


A Meeting Of Prodigies

by EyeOfKaleidoscope



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball, Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Additional Tags to Be Added, BS sports moves, Character Bashing, Character Study, Crossover, Female Echizen Ryouma, Female Kuroko Tetsuya, Gen, Genderbending, Generation of Miracles Bashing, Hanamiya-Echizen brotp, Kuroko-Echizen brotp, Kuroko-Takao brotp, Not Beta Read, Swearing, akashi and kuroko are cousins, basically everyone is warm and friendly and gets along, but they cuss a lot too, extremely canon compliant, not many pairings, potential OOC, psychological plays
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-03
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-09-06 08:18:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 50
Words: 234,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8742133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EyeOfKaleidoscope/pseuds/EyeOfKaleidoscope
Summary: Between the two of them, they hold the worlds of tennis and basketball in the palms of their hands, inspiring those around them to try their hardest to reach for the stars that will forever be withheld as long as those two are alive. Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko. AU-ish. Rated for heavy language (some chapters).Cross-posted on ff.net under "LivingDaLife."Heavily inspired by multiple works, among which the most prevalent being "Princess of Miracles" and "The Ice Princess Of Rikkaidai" by starian_nightzz (ao3 & ff.net), "A Friendship Of Sorts" by herondalefan (ff.net), "Of Unlikely Friendships, Sneaky Bets, Shogi and Sake" by itsthechocopuff (ao3), and basically all of cywscross's Kuroko no Basuke works (ao3).





	1. First: Geniuses

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Princess of Miracles](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4164345) by [starian_nightzz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starian_nightzz/pseuds/starian_nightzz). 
  * Inspired by [Of Unlikely Friendships, Sneaky Bets, Shogi and Sake](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4241019) by [itsthechocopuff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsthechocopuff/pseuds/itsthechocopuff). 
  * Inspired by [When Opposites Attract](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5401760) by [cywscross](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cywscross/pseuds/cywscross). 
  * Inspired by [When Shadows Meet](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1081186) by [cywscross](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cywscross/pseuds/cywscross). 
  * Inspired by [Accidents](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1085162) by [cywscross](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cywscross/pseuds/cywscross). 



> Hello, lovelies! First ff on ao3, so please excuse any formatting issues and such. Some schematics and such are below.
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> That being said, please do enjoy!

Akashi is currently doing something so unbearably uncharacteristic, he will forever deny that it ever happened. He will take it to his grave, along with (what most people assume to be) the shortest list of shortcomings in the entire history of human existence on the planet Earth.

The sole heir to the Akashi conglomerate, the ex-captain to the Generation of Miracles, the current captain of the Emperor, Rakuzan, and the high school freshman known as the all-knowing Emperor-Akashi Seijūrō is _not_ lost.

Nope. Not at all.

He just happens to have no recognition of his surroundings, and has no idea on how to get back to where he is _supposed_ to be, which is his team's basketball practice.

His teammates will _never_ let him live this down-even if he threatens them with scissors.

Repressing a sigh (that would be unsightly), Akashi continues to move down the sidewalk he is currently walking on, forcing feigned purpose into his wide strides, willfully ignoring the burning stares that are boring into his head from the occasional passerby. A small group even stop in place as he passes by, unabashedly watching him with wide eyes as he moved as quickly as possible onwards without seeming impolite or in a complete rush.

There is a perfectly good reason as to why Akashi is here instead of inside the gym, where he would usually be at this time of day. Rakuzan is a well-known high school, praised for its high rankings in all aspects of school: academics, sports, and arts. Especially considering that it is indeed a boarding school, it's no wonder that Rakuzan's campus could be mistaken for that of an affluent college or university. With the way that buildings are situated on the campus, Akashi has never been on this side of campus, considering that all of the places that he must frequent daily are all, rather conveniently, grouped within the same vicinity. Despite Akashi's penchant for wanting to be absolute and to know all, with his busy schedule, which includes balancing his rigorous academic workload, basketball practices, and work for his father that conditions him subliminally (then again, not so very subliminally if Akashi is well aware of it), Akashi has had little to no free time. The times when he has little, he spends it on shogi, and the times when he his none...well, that's quite self-explanatory.

So, yes, Akashi Seijūrō is quite unfamiliar with his current environment.

Akashi reaches the end of the sidewalk-nothing but a lawn of lush green grass spreads out before him, where students are spread out, lazing around or roughhousing or just enjoying that beautiful weather. Even Akashi can appreciate the perfect climate-a little warmer than usual, especially considering that it's nearing the end of October, yet with enough of a slight breeze to cool down heating flesh, but not enough to freeze.

It's times like these that Akashi wonders why there are no outside basketball courts.

It's quite possible for Akashi to stop and check the directory that sits to the left of where is he right now, or to even ask for directions from one of the students nearby, but his pride keeps him from doing so. It's not so much that he particularly cares what people think of him, but rather because he _is_ absolute.

(Although, on further inspection, that sentiment finds its roots in what people think of him, which only proves him to be _wrong_ , but don't say anything, Akashi keeps scissors in easy to reach places.)

Instead, he smoothly maneuvers him in the direction of the directory, casting a passing glance towards its smooth surface as he does so. A little peek can't be considered "looking for help," and it's not exactly incriminating if he just happens to commit the map of Rakuzan's campus to memory in that little peek.

Akashi realizes that he's currently heading in the opposite direction of where he has to be right now, and instead of stopping and heading back the way he came like a normal person, he powers forward, deciding to take the long way around. After all, if he's already late, he may as well enjoy the beautiful day before he is forced to hole up inside the sweaty, stuffy gym until nine at night (after all, he's an hour and a half late-he will have to stay after practice to make up for lost time).

Indeed, Akashi is extremely uncharacteristic today.

After stepping off the lawn, Akashi turns the corner of the building, ready to head back to the other side of campus, when the sounds of balls hitting the ground behind him lures him away from his route. Normally, Akashi would never be distracted by such a petty thing, but today...

Today, as established previously, is a rather uncharacteristic day.

Besides, Akashi has heard some rather interesting things about the tennis team for quite some time. Apparently, a prodigy is a regular on the team, two years younger than the other freshman. Apparently, he managed to test into Rakuzan and secure a spot on the national-level team. Even Akashi has to admire that, considering that he himself hadn't done that.

(He had the choice, but he had managed to convince his father to not-after all, at the end of his first year, he and the Generation of Miracles were still _"friends"_.)

Once again, due to his busy schedule, Akashi has never gotten the time to personally come and assess the situation, so he might as well do so right now...Echizen Ryoma is the prodigy's name.

Having never really been in contact with sports other than basketball throughout the course of his life, as he had no interest in any other form of athletics, Akashi is pleasantly surprised (yes, today is a one-time thing) to notice that the sounds are different.

While the sounds of a basketball hitting the linoleum floor are harsh and heavy, like the beating of drums that carry the weight of a song, the sounds of a tennis ball hitting the smooth courts are much lighter, much freer, like the crashing of the cymbals that accentuate and emphasize certain parts of the song. They're both balls, yet intrinsically, they are strangers.

How curious.

Akashi walks in between two buildings and finds himself facing a series of tennis courts. A cluster of wire fences enclosing three courts each sit about five feet away from each other, forming a grid of pathways for people to move through. Though Rakuzan is best known for its basketball team, Akashi understands that its other sports clubs flourish as well, only adding to its prestigious name. The tennis club is second only to the basketball team, but depending on the person who is asked, the two have a 50-50 chance of being recognized.

All that explains why Akashi can see many people crowding the courts through the wire mesh and somewhat transparent black fabric that swaths the top half of the fencing. If he has to guess, there are probably more people in tennis club than in the basketball club, which makes him slightly annoyed, but only slightly. After all, what would be the purpose of someone who could only play tennis on a basketball team? Might as well have those who specialize in certain things work for that specialization.

Much like a certain blue-haired girl he knows.

A slight smile plays at the edges of Akashi's lips as he walks towards the closest cage, carefully and silently cracking the door open, slipping inside. He's not quite sure what has compelled him to do such a thing, therefore causing him to miss _even more_ practice than he had first intended to, but...

Well, it is quite hard to regret that decision now.

Akashi is quite sure that he has stepped into the regulars' practice. Only nine people are dispersed within an area obviously meant for at least twelve. All three courts are used-it seems that the regulars are doing what basketball players would call "one on one," although Akashi is certain that tennis players call it "singles." Looking around, Akashi notes that he recognizes quite a few people as his fellow first years, which only amuses him further-it seems that he is not the only prodigious freshman here.

The first he catches sight of, due to the fact that he is currently sitting on a high chair, refereeing the match at the far end of the cage. It's a good thing that Akashi has good eyesight to go along with his Emperor Eye. Well, in all honesty, it is his natural, innate good eyesight that helped develop and shape his Emperor Eye.

Tezuka Kunimitsu. A freshman in Class 1-A along with Akashi, Tezuka also consistently ranks among the highest in school wide rankings, constantly seceding and conquering second place (of course, Akashi is and will always be at the top). Considering that, as a freshman, Tezuka is managing to score higher scores on the same level of exams as seniors, even Akashi will admit that it is quite admirable for someone outside of the Akashi family. Akashi is somewhat acquainted with the stoic boy, as the two are the freshmen representatives in the student council. He is smart, yes, and Akashi has a feeling that he would be able to match Midorima in shogi if he tries hard enough, but...

Well, Tezuka is no fun. Much like Kuroko, Tezuka holds a mask and refuses to let any emotion seep through, but unlike Akashi's cousin, Tezuka has no endearing traits.

None whatsoever.

And maybe it is because Akashi is practicing some sort of nepotism, but Tezuka's form of emotionless acting does not endear him to Akashi in the way Kuroko's does.

Although most would argue that that is a good thing, and Akashi himself can't help but agree. After all, everyone knows what happens to people who catch Akashi's interest.

The two people playing on the court that Tezuka presides over are slightly blurry, but upon making out the distinct silver and blue heads of hair bobbing across their sides of the court, Akashi is easily able to discern the two players.

Atobe Keigo. Another freshman in Class 1-A, Akashi has known Atobe for a good chunk of his life. It's no wonder that the Akashis and Atobes are well acquainted with each other-after all, as the two wealthiest business tycoons of Japan, the two families are both heavy rivals and long time friends, with bonds forged from years of mutual blood, sweat, and pain shed to claw their ways to the top, where they lord over the rest of the world. Akashi remembers, quite well, unfortunately, his first meeting with Atobe, and how utterly disgusted he was (and still is) at the prancing manner the other boy acted in, as if his entire future is nothing more than a joke, a gag that is as insignificant as a piece of gum stuck under a table. The only redeeming point that Akashi graciously grants Atobe is in the fact that Atobe holds that lacking burning determination in tennis. Akashi, despite understanding and accepting his future as the inheritor of his father's business, must admire the dogmatic stubbornness that Atobe pursues his team and his tennis with.

To a certain extent, Akashi can even emphasize with him, though that still does not excuse the ridiculousness of the boy's actions. Akashi has never encountered someone with as large an ego as Atobe Keigo, and that's saying something, considering the amount of high-class children he has met with throughout his entire life.

Yukimura Seiichi. Another freshman in Class 1-A, Akashi does not know this blue-haired boy all too well. From the snippets of rumors that he hears (Akashi has never put much stock into rumors, as most are just a load of bullshit, but they are an interesting way to assess the reputation and attention that a certain person commands), Yukimura is known as a sweet, gentle boy, who, despite his constant smile, is not a person to be crossed. Personally, Akashi finds such a description strange-after all, it is contradictory, polarizing, but then again, Akashi finds himself to be quite the contradiction, so it doesn't take much for him to accept it as it is and to move on.

He's slightly miffed that he hadn't known that those three are all regulars of the tennis club. Having never really seen them interact much in class, he had assumed them to be strangers to each other, but...

If the slight banter and aggressive play between Atobe and Yukimura are anything to go by, they know each other quite well.

On the second court, the referee has silver brown hair cut to the nape of his neck, though Akashi takes more notice of the bandages wrapped around his left arm than his physical appearance. With his sharp eyesight, Akashi just catches the slight bumps and ridges of a sort of...gauntlet under the bandages. To anyone without his eyesight, they would assume that the boy (who, while looking familiar, is not as recognizable to Akashi as the previous three) is either injured or making a fashion statement, but Akashi quickly deduces that he must be wearing it as part of a training regime, or maybe as part of a promise or bet with another person.

Of the two people on the court, only one is immediately identifiable. Brown hair, closed eyes, unfaltering smile. Fuji Syuusuke. Another freshman of Class 1-A, and one who Akashi himself has judged to be rather dangerous. In a battle of pure wits, Akashi himself has to admit that he isn't sure who would win. As a result, Akashi has paid Fuji a sort of silent respect, a private acknowledgement of who Fuji is and what he can do. Fuji himself, at that level, understands Akashi, and pays him the same respect. The two have been dancing around each other in class for months, and even the most oblivious of people are alert enough to not intrude on the deadlock the two have been in. Much like Tezuka, Fuji holds a mask, but unlike Tezuka, Fuji is much, _much_ more interesting.

The person that Fuji is currently playing against has messy orange hair and is needlessly bouncing around court. Akashi can hear him shouting broken phrases even as he obviously exerts large amount of energy, if the sweat pouring from his body is anything to go by. The boy reminds Akashi of Kise-extremely excitable, constantly enthusiastic, and _never silent_.

Akashi is rather glad that he doesn't know this tiresome orange-haired boy.

On the court in front of him, Akashi's eyes are immediately drawn to the figure nearest him. He catches flashes of the other two people, who he also knows-a freshman in Class 1-B who he sees hanging around Yukimura constantly, the one who wears a hat even inside school, named Sanada Genichirō, and a freshman in Class 1-A who seems to trail behind the other two, with a brown bob cut and closed eyes, though Akashi can sense him observing and analyzing everything and everyone around him, named Yanagi Renji-but his main focus is on the waterfall of emerald-tinted black hair tied into a high ponytail playing against Sanada.

He hadn't known that Echizen Ryoma is a girl.

Echizen seems to glow under the sunlight. Her sleek hair absorbs the sunlight, but from his position, he can see her eyes as she chases after the tennis ball and hits it over the net to land it on Sanada's side. The golden color seems to reflect the light, glowing in a rather unnatural way. A bright smile graces her face as her lithe body twists and turns in ways that Akashi has never seen before, and certainly never expected to see in a tennis match.

Akashi has always seen tennis as a primitive sport. After all, it's nothing more than two people chasing after a neon blob while wielding sticks in order to hit it back and forth over a net. Such an incredibly repetitive, useless sport is absolute garbage compared to the elegance of basketball, a sport that requires the mind just as much as the physical body. A sport that includes tactical plays and heavy teamwork, synchronization, and, most of all, _skill_.

Tennis has always been just a silly way for little children to pass the time to him, but right now, watching the prodigy play against someone two years older than her, not to mention obviously stronger and more experienced than her, Akashi can't help but feel some sort of...respect.

For her? Or for tennis?

Determination burns bright in the gold of her eyes as she leaps up into the air, higher than any basketball player, including Kuroko, Akashi has ever seen before, and raises her racket high into the air to smash the ball onto the point of intersection of the service line and the midline.

His Emperor Eye scans her body, watching her muscles bunch and tense under the material of her uniform, and his eyes widen as she lands on her feet lightly, before he can even finish predicting what she's about to do. Only a neon flash registers in his mind before his wide eyes catch sight of the ball rolling behind an unsurprised Sanada.

Akashi isn't often taken by surprise, and this new development can't be written off as being part of this "off-day" of Akashi's. Echizen just legitimately moved faster than Akashi's eyes could see, and faster than his brain could process.

_How is that possible?_

"7-6. Match to Echizen."

The girl slants her tennis rocket across the back of her shoulders, holding onto it by its handle and head. That bright, easygoing grin still doesn't disappear as she leisurely walks up to the net, where Sanada is already waiting with his hand outstretched for a handshake. "Mada mada dane, Nichi-chan."

Sanada's eyes narrow just the slightest. Obviously, the boy is displeased-whether at the nickname or at his loss, Akashi isn't quite sure, but he wouldn't be surprised if it's due to both. "Good game, Ryoma."

Echizen sticks her tongue out at Sanada before pulling a tennis ball out of her pocket. Without a single glance in his direction, she tosses it over her shoulder.

Akashi watches with slight fascination as the ball makes a perfect arc that, if he were any other person, would hit him square on the forehead, but since he's not any other person, he easily catches the furiously spinning ball in his hand, ignoring the smarting sting that erupts upon the heavy friction that it applies to his flesh as it comes to a jarring halt. Midorima would be impressed. "Is that a way to greet a fellow student?"

Echizen turns her head slightly, a mischievous glint in her cat-like golden eyes. Sanada and Yanagi watch, only the slight tightening of their muscles indicating any sort of reaction towards Akashi. He must've caught them by surprise, which only makes him even more curious as to how Echizen found out that he was watching them. Even though he isn't able to use misdirection due to his lack of a lack of presence, he has picked up a few tricks along the way of teaching Kuroko her current style. Most people wouldn't notice him if he doesn't want to be noticed, yet here Echizen is, challenging his absoluteness.

"I don't make it a habit to be nice to people who loiter in places where they aren't supposed to be."

Akashi smirks, lightly tossing the tennis ball up, catching it in the hand it had been in previously. "You're an interesting girl, aren't you, Echizen Ryoma?"

Echizen fully turns around, dropping her arm and letting the head of the racket graze the ground. She's extremely short in stature-even for her age, her height is less than average. She's a lot like Kuroko. "I don't know your name, Stalker-san. I don't think that's quite fair."

Oh, yeah. A _lot_ like Kuroko.

"How rude of me. I am Akashi Seijūrō. It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Echizen replies dryly before turning around, flouncing towards a bench on the side of the court, right next to the referee's chair. Picking up a water bottle, she proceeds to ignore Akashi as she takes a deep chug of water.

As she continues to drink, Yanagi and Sanada make their ways towards Akashi. Both know who he is, and nod towards him, gaining one in response. "I apologize for Ryoma's attitude. She has a bit of an ego."

Akashi laughs at Yanagi's words, eyes glittering as he holds their gazes with his heterochromatic eyes. "I'm quite used to such a thing. The basketball world is just as full of egotistical narcissists as the tennis world, it seems."

"Hey!" Echizen caps her bottle and makes her way towards the group of three, squeezing in between Sanada and Yanagi. The slight pout on her face is really far too similar to Kuroko for comfort. "You're part of the basketball team?"

"I'm the captain."

Her eyes glitter with recognition for a moment before she cracks an excitable grin. "Can I watch your practice, then?"

Without missing a single beat, Akashi responds with an even wider smirk. "Quid pro quo?"

Echizen tilts her head to the side. "Payback."

"Touché."


	2. Second: Leaders

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back with chapter 2! Since I've already done a good amount of writing for this fic, I'll be posting a chapter daily until I run out of my pre-written chapters. 
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes

Echizen isn't quite sure why she asked the strange boy with dual-colored eyes about basketball-to be perfectly honest, she has never had interest in anything other than tennis, Ponta, Karupin, and, on a good day, the wellbeing of her senpai-tachi (yes, she and everyone else knows quite well that even though she is two years younger than all of them, she technically doesn't have to call them her "senpai-tachi" anymore, since they're in the same grade, but bad habits die hard) and, if she's also in an _extremely_ good mood, that of her family. Basketball? Not even in the top 10 of her list of "fucks given," yet here she is, walking next to a complete stranger who is apparently the captain of Rakuzan's basketball club (he seems a bit young to be the captain, but then again, Mitsu-buchou is also the captain in his first year, and besides, Echizen knows better than anyone than to judge someone by their appearance-maybe the weird boy is the same as her-too short for his age), ready to watch him practice a sport that she has no interest in.

It's really weird, and her interest is piqued. If the surprised looks Nichi-senpai and Renji-senpai gave her when she first asked aren't anything to go by, then the equally baffled and confused looks the rest of her teammates sent her when she left practice early tell her that the people who are closest to her are also weirded out.

Maybe that's why she continues to follow him, even though she has determined that she definitely wasn't in her right mind at that point in time.

If anything, at least he's a little fun. She has never met anyone willing to play around the way he did with her. And it's not as if it takes an absolute genius to read between the lines, distinguishing between what she says and what she means. Only Suke-senpai is willing to play along, and even then, he answers in that patronizing tone that makes her want to slam her fist into his gut. If this red-haired boy feels the same way, at least he has the decency to pretend otherwise.

He'd be a good friend.

"What do you think of basketball, Ryoma?"

Echizen glances at her companion out of the corners of her eyes. He stares steadfastly forward, walking in fluid, natural movements with an effortless grace that draws and holds attention. He's rather pretty, she decides (more than "rather pretty," but that doesn't matter). "I think it's boring."

Bright red and stunning orange slowly slide to the side, locking onto her glowing golden eyes, and though nothing about his expression changes, a shiver runs down Echizen's spine, as if the temperature has just gone down several degrees. A slight smile pulls at her lips-after all, it's not often that she feels this way. Towards anyone else, she would be pissed and throw a temper tantrum, but towards him...she's excited. "Oh? Why do you say that?"

Her smile grows wider, and she brings her arms around her back, latching onto her wrist with her left hand. "I think you know why."

His eyes slide back as he subtly increases his previously leisurely gait. Echizen matches him step for step, internally grinning so widely, her face would split in half if she lets it show. "Are you challenging me?"

"What if I am, Stalker-san?"

"How...entertaining."

The two lapse into silence, the only sounds being the beat of their footsteps on the sidewalk and their light breaths, almost inaudible to Echizen if not for the fact that she's currently hyperaware of everything. As classes have finished, most people are either in their dorms, off campus, or hanging around the more recreational areas-certainly not walking in between the math and science lecture halls. Echizen normally doesn't mind the silence-in fact, she often craves it. After having spent a year being constantly surrounded by the noisiest people on Earth who, coincidentally, refused to leave her alone, not to mention the past few months in which she has been forced to listen to the Monkey King's constant exclamations on how he is God's gift to peasants, Mura-senpai and Suke-senpai's quiet scheming (it may be quiet, but that doesn't mean Echizen can't hear them tittering in the corner-it's why she's managed to survive this long), Nichi-senpai's constant screams of "TARUNDORU" despite the fact that the Monkey King is the vice-captain, and Kuran-senpai's hyperactive ex-kohai who seems to have some sort of buchou-complex (though not even Echizen is suicidal enough to say that aloud), which means that Kuran-senpai's phone is _constantly_ ringing with some of the most retarded songs ever (even one from the anime adaptation of that one manga that the boy is addicted to, the one with the poison arm or something along those lines), and even when Kuran-senpai finally decides to put his phone on silent, the damned brat decides to show up on school grounds, laughing and shouting and demanding Echizen to play a match with that annoyingly _wrong_ moniker because he can never get it through his _thick head_ that Echizen is _Echizen_ , not _Koshimae_.

To sum it up, Echizen is a strong supporter of the saying, "Silence is golden."

Yet right now, Echizen can't help but fight the urge to open her mouth and break it. It's such a strange sentiment, she spends the majority of the time to their destination pondering it. Never once in her entire life has she ever truly felt prompted to speak without a reason. Unless you count the times she's provoking someone. At that time, she needs no one's approval (mostly because she _never_ has anyone's approval), but in everything else, she's more of an _internal brooder_ than anything else.

It's as if, having been denied the obligation of speaking to this weird boy, she now feels compelled to continue the conversation, which is such a ridiculous notion to her, she would laugh if it wouldn't probably make him stare at her in confusion.

That last thought, however, halts her entire train of thinking. _When has Echizen Ryoma ever care about what another person thinks of her?_

The answer: _never_.

Until a red-haired, heterochromatic-eyed stalker.

"We're here."

Echizen is snapped out of her thoughts by her companion's announcement, and she blinks, glancing around at the unfamiliar surroundings. She has never found either the need or the time to move beyond the tennis courts, her dorm, and the section of the campus where her classes are located, so she's completely out of the loop here. After all, her schedule consists of homework, tennis, and playing with Karupin (who technically shouldn't be on campus, but Echizen managed to, ahem, _convince_ the school board to let her keep him on campus with her position on the tennis team as leverage-rather unsurprisingly, all the high schools with a decent tennis team had been fighting tooth and nail for one of the regulars of the teams that had gone to the National Championships of the middle circuit, especially those rather affluent ones, one of which being Echizen herself), any free time she has spent sleeping, drinking Ponta, playing more tennis, and hanging out with Karupin some more. Echizen has never explored this side of campus, and, to be perfectly honest, she's more than a little bit curious. The fact that even she has heard of the "Demon Emperor" of the basketball team means that this person must be very renowned, considering Echizen has the attention span of a goldfish when faced with something that falls outside the realm of her interests.

A little belatedly, she realizes that her companion must be this (in)famous "Demon Emperor" she's been hearing about since the start of school.

The gym looks to be like a regular one, a lot like the one that Echizen goes to on break when she's not in the mood to deal with her perverted oyaji's gags on their court at home and when the street courts don't have anyone interesting to play against, though tennis courts would be inside that one. There's more than one, though, and they all form a sort of line that spans some ninety meters (about 300 feet) or so. Considering that each gym is about eighteen meters (about sixty feet) wide, it makes sense that there are five, though Echizen thinks that's a little overkill.

Almost as if sensing her thoughts, the weird boy speaks up again. "Though the tennis club _does_ have more members, Rakuzan is better known for its basketball team. As such, the school treats us in such a way to continue nurturing our inevitable victory. Although, I don't believe that you're in the position to say anything."

Echizen pouts, crossing her arms over her flat chest (despite the daily doses of milk, neither her height nor her boobs have grown to show the results of her hard work). "But we only have four courts. You said it yourself-we have _more_ members than the basketball team. That's a bit unfair, if you ask me. Not to mention the fact that your courts are much larger than our's. I don't see any reason for the school to spend so much money on something that doesn't deserve it all."

The boy arches an elegant eyebrow at her. When she doesn't back down, he moves towards the doors of the gym at the far end of the line. In a dismissive tone, he replies, "Graciously disregarding your implication, all I have to say is that learning how to please people in order to gain benefits for yourself is as much a part of life as unfairness is."

Echizen uncrosses her arms, brow furrowing as she opens her mouth to respond, but the boy doesn't give her any time to do so. Having reached the gym (most likely the one reserved for the first-stringers), he pushes open the doors. Just a moment prior, the area had been filled with the echoes of basketballs hitting the floor, shoes squeaking across the floor, and light chatter between teammates. The moment the doors swing open quietly, the entire gym plunges into a tense silence. The stiffness only seems to grow as Echizen pokes her head out from around Akashi. She's a little miffed that she's shorter than him, but at the same time, she's two years younger than him and considerably shorter than the rest of her peers, but the weird guy is _still_ only about ten inches taller than her (maybe a shorter number, but, unfortunately, not all dreams come true).

Her irritation over her height (or lack thereof) is quickly replaced by interest and slight curiosity as she takes in her surroundings. Having never really seen an area meant solely for basketball, she finds herself a bit amazed by the size of the interior. When she moves forward, her head whips downwards to stare at the floor in surprise. Having only ever played on rough, grippy surfaces, it's a bit surprising to hear the squeak of her tennis shoes across the gleaming, oiled flooring, and just as surprising to feel how smooth it is. How do basketball players not trip and fall over their feet if they're constantly running across surfaces like this?

Her inspection is quickly ended when one of the occupants finally breaks the silence with an exclamation of, "Sei-chan! Where have you been? You're an hour late!"

Echizen shoots an amused look towards the boy standing next to her. Having never really been good with names, it's no wonder that she forgot his already. "Stalker-san" is a good enough of a way of addressing him for now. Still, "Sei-chan" seems like a little much. If there's one thing Echizen has noticed about him (which, and she will never admit it, is one among many), it's that he...doesn't quite have any characteristics that make him deserve that type of nickname, but then again...

Echizen appraises the person who had just called "Sei-chan's" name. "Oh! So you have those types too?"

All attention turns on her immediately after the words are blurted out in the wake of the growing _awkwardness_ , for lack of a better word, but Echizen, true to her nature, completely disregards the burning gazes leveled on her in favor of stepping further into the gym, glancing around. There are about twenty or so people, of which four seem to be wearing fancier jerseys, including "Sei-chan" himself. They must be the regulars-or are they called starters? Echizen isn't quite sure, but from what little she bothered to listen to whenever Take-senpai, Eiji-senpai, and the occasional random contributor babbled on and on about all things unrelated to tennis, basketball included, there are some different terms for certain things in basketball that parallel tennis.

Although, in the end, it's not like that matters. Tennis is tennis, basketball is basketball, and that won't change no matter how many fancy words are thrown into the mess.

"What do you mean, 'types,' chibi-chan?" a blonde version of Eiji-senpai questions, bouncing forward to inspect Echizen closely. He seems to not notice either the huge red tick mark that appears on her head or the piercing glare golden eyes are currently leveling on his person. "And who are you? Why were you with Akashi? How are you not dead yet? I've never seen you before. Wow, you're _really_ short! Are you in junior high? Then why are you on this campus? Are you lost? Don't worry, don't cry, you'll be fine! Wait, did Akashi torture you? Akashi, so mean!"

With each consecutive word that comes out of the annoying Eiji-senpai clone's mouth, another tick mark is added to Echizen's head, creating an entire plethora of anger-induced markings that everyone except the person causing them seems to be aware of. Just as Echizen is about to explode, the blonde lets out a squeak of surprise before falling forward. Echizen's eyes widen slightly before she lithely manages to just barely sidestep the falling body. Maybe she's feeling particularly vindictive today, because as he slams face first onto the hard floor, she surreptitiously (as much as she can be) jabs the toes of her right shoe into his side. The abused boy lets out a grunt but otherwise lays on the ground, twitching, as Echizen turns her attention to the person responsible for the (fortunate) mishap.

Her eyebrow twitches as she finds herself practically staring up at the sky. A large face looms over her, angular eyes lazily regarding her. _What's up with all the tall people here?_ Having spent a surprising amount of time with Rikkaidai over summer break and during the ex-regulars' meet-ups that the Rakuzan team is sometimes dragged to, Echizen is quite familiar with Kuwahara, and therefore, quite familiar with the dark coloring of this gorilla's (seriously, he not only has the height, he also has the muscles!) skin, not to mention the fact that having spent a good portion of her life in the US-basically, all in all, she's not as affected by the muscle gorilla's presence and appearance than most other people would be. Still, having spent about two years in Japan completely surrounded by pale-skinned boys (and the occasional girl, who, surprise, surprise, also has a light skin tone), it's a bit of a shock to see any sort of melanin pigment.

The guy's hand is outstretched, as if he's miming a "pat-on-the-back" action, which only makes Echizen's eyebrow twitch anymore. Seriously? This blonde-who, according to his fancy jacket, is indeed a regular-was knocked over by a simple expression of friendship? But then again...Echizen swallows as her eyes rove over the gorilla's body. She'd be like a fly caught by a fly swatter if he does the same to her. "Kotaro, you should build up some muscle! You fell over because you have none!"

 _And you have too much!_ Echizen wants to shout, but one look at the dark grin in the guy's face and a second one at his straining regular jersey changes her mind. Sure, she doesn't particularly care what people think about her (except for a certain red-haired "Sei-chan"), but she also has a sense of self-preservation. And right now, that sense is telling her to not say anything about the muscle gorilla and his overabundance of testosterone.

"Eikichi!" the blonde (oh lords, Echizen has already forgotten his name; what is it: Kota, Katero, Katana?) whines, groaning as he slowly pushes himself up onto his knees. Leaning back on his haunches, he turns his head around to glare at the gorilla (Eikto, Etochi, Erotic?), rubbing his forehead, where a bright red mark as a result of slamming his head into the floor glows proudly. "What was that for?"

"The elementary schooler looked uncomfortable!" Erotic replies rather defensively, he and Katana engaging in a stare down. Meanwhile, Echizen, standing a little off to the side, looks more than a little miffed. _So I'm in elementary school now?_

"Regulars!" The sharp voice causes everyone's heads, except for Erotic, Katana, and, although Echizen can't see him, "Sei-chan's" heads to whip towards the source-the former two because they have identical one-track minds and the latter because, well, there's really no need for any explanation, is there?

A man who looks to be the same as baka oyaji is standing next to the pole, under the backboard of one of the small, mini courts that make up the large one that spans the entire area of the gym (really, this is all meant for only twenty people?). His arms are crossed, and the suit and tie that he has on reminds Echizen briefly of Monkey King's old middle school coach, Sakaki-sensei, though even she has to admit that he's more of a music teacher than he is a tennis coach. He must be the basketball coach, though from what little Echizen has heard, the "Demon Captain" acts as the coach more often than the actual coach does.

Despite that last fact, he's still pretty intimidating.

"Coach Shirogane!" the pretty boy ("bishounen," Echizen remembers as the correct term, having heard both Suke-senpai and Mura-senpai being described in that way when people don't think that they're anywhere within a fifty-meter radius) who first spoke after her and "Sei-chan's" entrance exclaims before flinching back when the intimidating man turns a hard gaze on him.

"Mibuchi, Hayama, Nebuya. Twenty laps around the gym."

The pretty boy, muscle gorilla, and Eiji-senpai clone (it's starting to look like she'll never be able to learn their names, having cycled through a ridiculous amount of them already) all freeze, gaping at the coach. Echizen cackles internally at the distressed looks on their faces. _Looks like Mura-senpai and Suke-senpai are rubbing off on me..._

"But-!" Eiji-senpai clone whines, his voice combining with the other two's complaints.

"SILENCE!" The coach's voice echoes throughout the gym, and the three fall silent once again. Everyone's attention seems to be on them. _No shit, Sherlock._ The basketball team's coach seems to be like some unholy combination between Mitsu-buchou and Nichi-senpai, what with the laps and the extremely loud shout. "I will not tolerate any questions. Fifty laps around the gym." When Eiji-senpai clone opens his mouth again, an even louder, "Speak again and I'll make it a hundred!" cuts him off. Upon seeing that their coach is currently not in the mood to entertain anything, the three scramble to complete their laps. "Back to practice, everyone! Akashi, ojou-san, come with me."

As the silent gym slowly becomes lively once more, though with more chatter than before, "Sei-chan" comes up behind Echizen and lightly touches her shoulder. "Come along, Ryoma. Coach Shirogane would be displeased if we are late."

Echizen frowns slightly as she ups her pace in order to match "Sei-chan's." He leads her towards a door to the side of the main entrance, which she assumes is the coach's office. It's a bit weird that it's attached to the actual practice area, but then again, the basketball club is certainly much more _fancy_ than the tennis club.

Once the two reach the door, "Sei-chan" reaches out and lightly knocks on the door in a show of respect and deference. A light "come in" sounds from behind the door, and "Sei-chan" pushes open the door, lightly waving inside. Unsure whether he's being genuinely polite or mocking, Echizen steps in first anyways, moving forwards and taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of the slightly cluttered table that the coach is currently sitting at. The office seems plain, with only filing cabinets and some shelves heavy with books lining the walls. A few potted plants dot the floor, but what really catches Echizen's attention is the wall behind the comfortable-looking swivel chair the coach is sitting on. The wall is completely covered in pictures-pictures of teams with years and dates written under them, pictures of basketball games that are in a surprising amount of focus, newspapers clippings that Echizen doesn't bother to read because she knows what they say, and more things relating to the basketball club. Two trophy cases sit in the corners behind the desk, each holding a ridiculous amount of blinding, golden trophies, all of them inscribed with a prominent number one.

"Coach Shirogane," "Sei-chan" greets formally, bowing. He's standing behind Echizen's chair, and she straightens slightly, wondering briefly if she's supposed to do the same, but when the coach nods and "Sei-chan" comes to sit down right next to her, neither giving her some sort of indication that she should, she relaxes further into the chair. It's _super_ comfortable, but probably not as comfortable as that swivel chair is...

"Akashi," the coach intones, setting down the pen he had just been using to scrawl something on the forms in front of him. Setting his elbows on the table, he steeples his fingers together, and Echizen once again wonders briefly why people feel the need to do so. Does it heighten the drama and suspense? Or is it something instinctual? "Do you have a valid explanation as to why you are an hour late to _your team's_ practice?" The emphasis isn't lost on either of the two.

"Sei-chan" shakes his head without hesitation. The coach frowns as the basketball team captain speaks. "I have no excuse. It is a mistake that I do not intend to make again, and I will accept any punishment you deem fit for me."

The coach's frown deepens as a rather contemplative look crosses his face. Neither of the two seem to remember Echizen's presence, not that she particularly minds. It's not often that someone ignores her, so she might as well treasure it right now, since she has no doubt that the coach will be questioning her next. "Normally, I would assign laps and extra training time after practice ends, but I know that neither would really affect you. This _is_ your first time being late, so I'll let you off with a warning this time, but if this ever happens again, I _will_ have to discipline you. As the captain, you have to set an example, even if you're a first year-or rather, _especially_ since you're a first year."

"Sei-chan" nods his head. "I understand."

"Now, I must ask, who is the young lady that you brought with you today, Akashi?" The coach turns his head towards Echizen, who, before "Sei-chan" can say anything, jumps in.

"I just wanted to watch your guys' basketball practice."

The coach raises an eyebrow, glancing at "Sei-chan," who merely nods, confirming her words. "Akashi, you know that we cannot risk having people outside of the club watching our practice, much less our _first-stringers_ -"

"Don't worry, I'm not a spy. I go to Rakuzan, too. Actually, I'm a regular on the tennis team, so I'm not even all that interested in basketball." Echizen interrupts flippantly, aware of how rude she may seem, and uncaring of that fact.

"I don't think it's any harm for her to watch. Besides, I believe that she has a sharp sensibility. Our practice shouldn't be interrupted too badly if she sits on the sidelines and just watches."

After a few minutes of mulling the matter over, the coach finally nods, standing up. "Sei-chan" rises at the same time, and, reluctantly, so does Echizen. "As long as that's all you'll do, then I don't have a problem with you being here...your name is?"

"Echizen Ryoma," "Sei-chan" answers, eyes studying the coach's face. A flash of recognition, surprise, and amusement disappears as fast as it appears, and the coach nods in acceptance.

"Yes, I don't have a problem with you watching our practice, Echizen. Please do keep out of the way, though. We wouldn't want you getting hurt."

Echizen smiles slightly, golden eyes glittering slightly. "It takes a lot more than a basketball to break me."

"I see that."


	3. Third: Miracles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back with Chapter 3! Here's a view of Seirin's side of things.
> 
> Bolded words are in English.
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy!

Kuroko Tetsuya, despite her blank face, is decidedly annoyed. So annoyed, in fact, that even random strangers off the street take one look at her face before running off with their metaphorical tails in between their legs.

That is to say, random strangers off the street _would_ take one look at her face before running off with their metaphorical tails in between their legs if they _could_ see her.

Unfortunately, that certain stipulation is quite unmet, and therefore, Kuroko can only stew in silence as Kagami-kun and the rest of her teammates, who have gotten a little bit (just a little bit) better at discerning both her presence and her moods, walk on eggshells around her. Even though the phantom usually lags behind the group, today, she marches ahead of Kagami-kun, Furihata-kun, Kiyoshi-senpai, and Fukuda-kun. Despite her bad mood, the blank look that she consistently wears is still present, even though the four boys behind her can tell very well that something dark is brewing beneath it.

Ever since Kuroko first showed up at the basketball tryouts, she has intrigued many a person, whether teammate or opponent. Notwithstanding the fact that she's a _girl_ playing in a _boy's_ team (and somehow she managed to convince both the middle and high school and, eventually, the college national basketball associations* to allow her to do so), along with the fact that she in the Phantom Sixth (Wo)Man of the Generation of Miracles, there is something innately _mysterious_ about Kuroko, something that draws people to her like flies to amber. Whether it is her amazing sense of self control or her admirable resilience and determination, not one person has yet been able to deny the fact that Kuroko is an interesting girl, even though, half of the time, most people forget about her presence altogether.

Therefore, it doesn't come as a surprise that there is more to her than meets the eye, especially when Kagami came running to the team one night during their (surprise) joint training camp with Shutoku, hyperventilating about a conversation he had overheard between Kuroko and Midorima, during which the only words Aida and Hyuuga had been able to make it were "injury," "disappointed," "style," and "boyfriend." Obviously, that last word had intrigued the entire team, and when they had gone to confront Kuroko about it, she merely replied in her usual deadpan fashion, "I hardly believe that I am obligated to give my nosy senpai-tachi and fellow first years any explanation when such a conversation was _private_ and not _privy_ to any outsiders' ears." And with those harsh words along with a strong glare at Kagami (who still feels the shivers run down his spine to this day), she had slammed the door close.

The topic has never been brought up again.

Even still, the four teammates who are currently trailing behind her looking for all the world like confused pups (even Kiyoshi-senpai, which is an image that no one should ever see) are most definitely surprised by the sheer amount of emotion that is practically pouring off of her body, only visible to them. The reason, though, remains elusive, and if Kuroko has any say in it, she would like to keep it that way.

For that reason, she left her cell phone at her apartment for today, not wanting any reminder of the...unpleasant text message her uncle had sent her this morning.

Upon remembering it now, her eyes narrow imperceptibly, and Kagami shudders behind her as the dark aura around her seems to multiply by seven fold. He had never been one to believe in the more spiritual type rumors that have always been popular among his peers, but he's starting to become a believer as he watches his partner grow more sullen with each step they take towards the park where the streetball tournament is taking place.

As if on cue, the gates to the park appear in sight, and Kuroko comes to a stop off to the side of it, waiting for the rest of her team to catch up. By then, despite the ugly thoughts still crawling around her head, she has sufficiently calmed down enough to stop leaking that spiritually black aura Kagami-kun swore he had felt earlier.

Once all four have gathered, Kiyoshi-senpai leads the way, steering them towards the large tents set up not far from the basketball court where a game is currently in session. The players seem to be having fun, if the bright smiles on their faces are anything to go by.

Upon reaching the front of the line, the group of four first years and one second year follow the worker's instruction of signing the sheet of paper in order to join. Just as one of them takes the pen, a frustrated, "Baka, you wrote it wrong, Tsugawa!" sounds from besides them, and upon glancing over, the five Seirin members find themselves staring at five Seiho members.

"EHHHHH?"

Ten minutes later, the ten basketball players find themselves sitting on a picnic blanket together, having bought food from the stalls surrounding the tournament. Kuroko herself merely kneels politely and formally while the other teenagers around her sit cross legged while stuffing their faces with food-especially Kagami, whose bulging cheeks are reminiscent of a chipmunk storing nuts in its cheeks.

"What are you guys doing here? What about practice?"

Kuroko glances to the side towards Kasuga-san. She remembers every single person she has ever gone against-even if she hadn't personally gone one-on-one against them. Maybe it's a little bit of Satsuki-chan's influence-despite her insistence on most of her predictions being a "woman's intuition," she has displayed time and time again just how valuable data is-even if against someone who will forever surpass that data. Seiho's play style interests her, in that she is admittedly impressed at the fact that they have managed to create such an effective basis for them to become one of the "Three Kings of Tokyo" through something so innocuous as an old martial arts move. She has to respect that. _A team of experts...too bad that they can't play anymore_. "Coach gave us the day off, and we decided to come and play a few games."

"What about you guys? Aren't you guys practicing?"

All eyes turn on Kagami-kun, who slowly stops chewing the overabundance of food in his mouth upon registering the fact that everyone is staring at him. His expression clearly says, "huh?", and Kuroko frowns internally at his thoughtless comment. Most likely he didn't know or had forgotten, but, still...she notices the sudden tension in Kasuga-kun's body beside her, and she lets out an inaudible sigh.

"Huh? Are you _trying_ to pick a fight?" Tsugawa-san growls, glowering hostilely at Kagami-kun, obviously hurt and insulted on his and his senpais' behalves. Even though his angry tone raises Kagami-kun's hackles, the rest of Seiho seem to relax ever so slightly, little smiles on their faces. Obviously, despite their kohai's faults, they are grateful towards him.

Iwamura-san sighs heavily from besides Kiyoshi-senpai, closing his eyes a bit apologetically. "Ignore Tsugawa. The third years are retiring. We don't have practice."

Kagami-kun swallows down the rest of his food, looking nonplussed. "What? You guys aren't participating in the Winter Cup?"

Even Furihata-kun and Fukuda-kun wince at the insensitive words pouring out of an oblivious Kagami-kun's mouths, and Kuroko is about to open her mouth to lightly reprimand him when Kasuga-san speaks up from besides her. "You mean you really don't know?" When Kagami-kun responds with a blank look, the third year sighs before setting down the bottle in his hand. "Only the top eight teams from Inter-High can participate in the Winter Cup heats."

Kagami-kun's jaw drops slightly, and a guilty look is already on his face, even as Iwamura-san continues Kasuga-san's explanation. "In other words, only first and second place from the Inter-High. From out block, that's just Seirin and Shutoku."

Kasuga-san sighs lightly, unnoticeable to everyone except Kuroko, who only stares at him blankly as he finishes. "Which means that because we lost to Seirin, we're automatically disqualified. We won't be participating in Winter Cup. We're taking a break from studying for exams today."

As Kasuga-san continues to speak, Seiho begins to stand up, one-by-one, until only the five from Seirin remain sitting. Iwamura-san glances down at Kiyoshi-senpai, an amicable smile on his face, even as a slight weariness pulls at the rest of his body. Obviously, he and the rest are still upset (especially Tsugawa-san, who's still glaring at Kagami-kun), but most of them have put it in the past, for which Kuroko is both grateful for and admires. _Seiho really is an admirable team._ "If we play each other today, we can play the game we missed last year."

Kiyoshi-senpai immediately responds, a slightly concerned look on his face. If Kuroko remembers correctly, the two have a bit of a history together, having competed in Junior High school tournaments together. From their body language, they are comfortable around each other, and from their conversation, they respect each other. "Don't play too hard."

Kasuga-san laughs slightly, pulling the strap of his bag up over his shoulder. "People don't forget that easily. I wish this coincidence could've happened while we were still smoldering."

Ignoring Tsugawa-san's interjection of, "Yeah, seriously!" in an extremely pissed voice, Iwamura-san grabs his rowdy kohai's shirt and pulls him out of Kagami-kun's face. "I'm disappointed that Hyuuga and the others are missing, but we will have our revenge later, so we can focus on our exams without reservations."

As they all leave, Kuroko lets a smile slip out as Kagami-kun shouts after Seiho's retreating backs, "Bring it on!"

As the rest of Seirin continue to enjoy their impromptu picnic, Tsugawa finds himself asking his ex-captain a question that's been bugging him since they first ran into the opposing team. "By the way, there's a guy on Seirin I don't recognize. Do you know him?"

Iwamura turns his head towards Tsugawa before glancing back at the five Seirin members. Kagami has once again stuffed his cheeks with more food while Kuroko, the quiet girl she is, merely observes the rest of her teammates. When Kagami suddenly starts choking on the hot dogs he had been forcing down his throat, Kiyoshi laughs lightheartedly while the other two first years begin panicking. "You mean Kiyoshi? I've known him since middle school."

Tsugawa's eyes widen, and a curious gleam enters his gaze. Having never heard about this, he's wondering just how good this "Kiyoshi" person is. "So, is he good?"

Iwamura turns his head again to face forwards, a slight weariness entering him as he utters his next words. "If it wasn't for _him_ , he'd be the number one center, as far as I know." At Tsuagawa's confused look, Iwamura sighs before elaborating. "The center from the Generation of Miracles, Murasakibara Atsushi."

Kasuga, overhearing the two's conversation, quickly jumps in. "So, where'd he go? Muraskibara, I mean."

"Yosen High, I think."

Tsugawa nods, glancing forward. A few seconds later, the name registers in his mind. "Huh? Yosen?" His eyes widen when he realizes just why the school's name seems so familiar to him. "I just saw a guy carrying a Yosen bag!"

Iwamura frowns, coming to a halt as he turns to face Tsugawa. "What are you talking about? Yosen's in Akita." The ex-captain of Seiho looks as if he's about to say something else when the megaphones attached to poles interspersed around the park blare to life.

_"The first game is bout to begin. Team Seiho, please make your way to the court."_

Iwamura shakes his head, disregarding Tsugawa's words. Kasuga, meanwhile, pushes forward, lightly placing his hands on his teammates' backs. "Oh, it's already time. Let's go."

On the other side of the park, the five Seirin players are running as fast as possible to catch the Seiho game. That is, the Seirin players excluding Kuroko and Kiyoshi-senpai-the former because she is too polite to run around in the thick crowd, and combining that with her lack of presence, she's trying her hardest not to bump into anyone during normal circumstances, much less during when she's running, and the latter because...since when did Kiyoshi-senpai need a reason to do something?

"Oh, crap! We're late!" Furihata-kun gasps as he pumps his arms and legs as hard as possible towards the crowd surrounding the basketball court where Seiho's match is located. "It's all because Kagami said he was hungry again!" He throws a glare over his shoulder at the monstrous first year easily keeping pace behind him, all while continuously gnawing on a corn dog.

"I bet Seiho's already won!" Fukuda-kun whines as they finally manage to reach the court. The sight that greets them freezes them in place.

51-32

All of the players of the Seiho team are completely drenched in sweat, staring at a single guy who stands under the hoop. Tsugawa-san is the only one facing away, crouched on his knees with wide eyes filled with devastation and utter hopelessness as he stares at the ground.

"No way..." Furihata-kun breathes, unable to comprehend the sight presented before him. "They beat Seiho so easily!"

Kuroko, the calmest one among them, runs her eyes over the people surrounding her. The crowd is utterly silent as they stare at the scene-Seiho is famous, one of the "Three Kings of Tokyo," and yet here its regular team is, facing an utter loss. Kuroko frowns internally when her eyes land on Kagami-kun. His eyes are wide, his pupils dilated, looking for all the world as if he's just seen a ghost. When she follows the line of his gaze, she realizes that he's staring at the single figure of the boy under the hoop-the one who had beaten Seiho all alone, she soon realizes, upon seeing that he'e the only non-Seiho player on court. Purple and white flashes in the corners of her vision, and her eyes narrow. _Here? Now?_

"What...? What are you doing here?" Kagami-kun whispers, voice trembling as the boy slowly turns around.

The first thing Kuroko notices is the sparkling ring on the chain around his neck-an exact replica of the necklace that Kuroko sometimes sees around Kagami-kun's neck. Her internal frown deepens as her mind slowly begins to connect the pieces-not that there are many to begin with. His left eye is covered by his bangs, and the expression on his face is the one of the most cutting blank looks Kuroko has ever seen on anyone before. _A pretty boy-what's the word, "bishounen?"_

"Himuro Tatsuya!" The name comes exploding out of Kagami-kun's mouth, drawing both his teammates' and the boy's attention to him. Kuroko watches the boy, Himuro-san, carefully, noting the flickers of emotions across his face before his eyebrows furrow and he responds just as quietly as Kagami-kun's first words.

"Taiga?" A slow smile spreads across his face and he moves forward, hands casually in his pockets. " **Well, well, Taiga. What a _surprise_ to find you here!**"

While most of the people around them look confused, Kagami-kun responds in kind, eyes narrowing. " **You don't look surprised at all. Keeping the usual poker face?** "

Himuro-san chuckles, coming to a stop in front of Kagami-kun. The two haven't broken eye contact during the exchange. " **I'm not keeping a poker face. It's my natural expression.** "

Kiyoshi-senpai quickly interjects with broken English, in hopes of breaking the crackling tension in between the two. " **Is it, uh, Himuro? Kagami's friend?** "

Himuro-san, noticing Kiyoshi-senpai's slight struggle with the nonnative language, smiles genially. "Oh, I can speak Japanese. I just lived in America so long, I'm still not used to it."

Kiyoshi-senpai beams, nodding slightly. "Good, that'll help!"

Himuro-san turns back to face Kagami-kun, a slight smirk on his face. "We're not friends. I guess you could call me his brother."

"Kagami-kun?" Upon hearing Kuroko's unspoken query, the boy in question sighs, closing his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he slowly starts at the beginning.

"When I went to America, I had a...hard time making friends. Tatsuya was the first to approach me. He was the one who introduced me to basketball, and I respected him and his talent. When he offered to teach me, I couldn't resist. Through basketball, I was able to make more friends, especially with Tatsuya's help. Eventually, we began to see each other as a brother, and we exchanged rings-" At that point, Kagami-kun's hand unconsciously reaches up to lightly fiddle with his necklace. It's a movement that Kuroko notices. "-and we were inseparable since then. But...when Tatsuya graduated, we fell out of contact, and only met up on the street courts-this time, on opposing teams. That day, I beat Tatsuya for the first time. We met up again and continued to play. We were evenly matched, but one day...Tatsuya told me that if he lost the next game, he would stop being my brother." Kuroko glances at Himuro-san, whose expression hasn't changed throughout the entirety of the story. At those words, something in his face twitches, but it immediately smooths out. "When we had a one-on-one, I realized that his arm was injured-I had been playing against a disabled player the entire time! When he missed his shot, I was given the ball, and I had the chance to make a layup to win the game, but...I missed. On purpose." Kuroko sighs mentally, finally understanding what the root of the problem is. _So that's it...Bakagmi really is a fitting name for him. Why must all my lights be idiots?_ "Tatsuya was angry at me. He told me that he would bet his ring, our _brotherhood_ , on the next game. If I truly lost that game, he would pretend that the ring never existed. But I returned to Japan shortly afterward, and I never played Tatsuya."

Silence follows Kagami-kun's story as a sad smile spreads across Himuro-kun's faces. "I was disappointed then, but I came back to Japan this year, and now I attend Yosen High." Kuroko's eyes narrow, her suspicion having been confirmed. _I wonder if_ he's _here, too._ Unaware of the reaction his words inspired in two certain people, Himuro-kun turns around. "I thought we'd meet eventually..." Glancing over his shoulder, his smile turns into a cold, piercing glare. "Let's fulfill that promise today."

As Himuro-kun slowly makes his way back to his original position, Kagami-kun, who had been grinding his teeth, suddenly shouts, "Tatsuya!" When the boy stops and turns his head slightly to indicate that he's listening, Kagami-kun opens his mouth, tremulous words coming out. "I...You..."

Kuroko leans down to pick up Nigou, who had been following the group the entire time, lifting him up until he was level with Kagami-kun's head. Knowing what she wants, he sticks out a paw, lightly tapping Kagami-kun's cheek.

Another moment of stunned silence fills the court before Kagami-kun, as expected, blows up. "Ow! Nigou? You brought him?" He shies away from Kuroko, who continues to hold the puppy up until he calms down.

"I don't like it when you're indecisive," she states with a blank face, Nigou mirroring her expression in her hands.

"What?" Kagami-kun barks, leaning forward before quickly jumping backwards upon realizing that he had just accidentally touched Nigou. Lightly setting her puppy down, Kuroko straightens and sends Kagami-kun a steely look. "I think I understand the situation. In any case...I think it's completely your fault for going easy on him."

Kagami-kun's jaw drops and he sputters for a moment before spitting out a semi-coherent sentence. "I...If I had won..."

"You wouldn't be able to call Himuro-san your brother," Kuroko continues, the look on her face not abating in the slightest, "and winning when he was off his game probably isn't what you wanted. But no one wants their opponent to go easy on them in the game they love." A dark expression flashes across her face as she remembers Aomine-kun's words. "Besides, even if you're not brothers, it's not as though you would change."

Kagami-kun closes his eyes and sighs, unable to argue with the words of his partner, no matter how harsh they are. "You're...right," he reluctantly admits, glancing at Himuro-san, who watches the interaction in bafflement, most likely because he hadn't noticed Kuroko until now. "I like basketball because I enjoy facing strong players. Even if Tatsuya's my opponent." His grip on his ring tightens, and he lightly yanks it around in an unconscious manner. "Thanks, Tetsuya." Letting go of his ring, Kagami-kun turns to face Kimuro-san, a determined look on his face. "I've made up my mind! If we go head to head, I'll play as hard as I can, no matter what, Tatsuya!"

Himuro-san's gaze stays on Kuroko for a long moment before he smiles, looking back at Kagami-kun. "Sure. I look forward to playing you today. By the way..." His gaze slides back to Kuroko, who merely stares back, the deadpan expression unwavering. "Sorry, who are you?"

Even when Furihata-kun and Fukuda-kun choke behind her, Kuroko responds with a polite introduction, as if the previous conversation hadn't occurred at all. "I'm Kuroko Tetsuya. Nice to meet you."

A blank look is on Himuro-san's face before recognition flashes in his eyes. "So, you're...!" His eyes glitter, and Kuroko's second suspicion is confirmed. "You're found an interesting partner, Taiga."

As the rest of his teammates (except for Kuroko) sport confused looks, Kagami-kun exclaims, "Hey, Tatsuya! You know Tetsuya?"

"Yeah, a little." An amused undertone slithers into his voice as he continues, "There's actually an interesting person on my team, too."

While five members of Seirin finally meets the school where the fourth Miracle had gone to, the other members of the club are all practicing at the gym. Aida finds herself surprised to see the upperclassmen minus Kiyoshi shooting hoops. "Hey, I told you guys to rest!"

"It's just for a little bit," Hyuuga replies, taking another basketball out of the basket.

"Don't push yourselves too hard!" Aida warns, gaining in response a few nods and some "Yes, Coach!"'s. "By the way, the results of the Inter-High are out."

At that, all practice comes to a halt as everyone turns their attention to Aida, who has pushed herself up onto the stage. "So, what happened?"

"Just as we expected," Aida responds to Hyuuga's question, a frown pinching her face, "the schools attended by the Generation of Miracles took the top spots. Third: Yosen. Second: Touou. And in first..." She closes her eyes, as if bracing herself. "Rakuzan."

"Rakuzan...eh?" Izuki murmurs, for once not in the mood to make a pun. "They're the ones who took the Winter Cup last year."

"Yeah," Aida confirms, the dark look on her face only foretelling even worse news. "Rakuzan's captain this year is a member of the Generation of Miracles."

"A first year?" Hyuuga asks, slightly surprised, impressed, and terrified at the same time.

When Aida nods, he lets out a sigh, dropping his basketball back into the basket holding several more.

"Anyways, Touou placed second?" Koganei gasps, spreading his hands wide, a flabbergasted expression on his face. "Just how _strong_ is Rakuzan?"

"Actually, it's not that simple," Aida says, scowling. "It's true that all three schools are strong, but their ranking doesn't reflect the difference in their true ability. All three members of the Generation of Miracles were benched during the final and semi-final games."

Hyuuga blinks rapidly, and a few surprised noises leave the mouths of the others. "Why would they do that?"

Aida shakes her head, a contemplative look on her face. "I don't know. I could understand one player being benched, but if it was all three...There _must_ have been some reason."

Izuki frowns, glancing around at his teammates. All of them sport puzzled and frustrated looks, trying to figure out the logic behind such a random choice. "Do you think..." he hesitates for a moment before plunging forward. "Do you think that Kuroko would tell us?"

When no one answers his question, Izuki sighs, shaking his head. Aida mirrors his sigh, leaning back on her hands and staring up at the ceiling. "I wonder if she even knows why."

* * *

_"The final two remaining teams in this tournament are high school teams! Who will win?"_

The tense atmosphere on court only grows with each passing second. Kuroko notes that Seiho is standing against the barrier, watching intently. She turns her attention back to her opponents as Himuro-san opens his mouth to speak, addressing Kagami-kun. "Let's play for our fiftieth** win."

"Yeah!"

"Bow!" the referee calls, an explosion of sound erupting from the crowd as everyone bows and begins to move into place.

As they do, Kuroko lightly tugs on Kagami-kun's shirt sleeve. When he turns around to look at her, an eyebrow cocked in a "what?" gesture, she states, "Kagami-kun, there was something that bothered me about that story."

"Huh?" He turns to face her fully, a confused, slightly defensive look on his face.

"Don't be offended." Kuroko's clear gaze stays directly on Kagami-kun, as if willing him to hear the nonexistent sincerity in her voice. "You're strong." Kagami-kun bristles at the underlying implication, even as Kuroko turns to face Himuro-san. "But...he feels just like a member of the Generation of Miracles. I don't think that you can handle him by yourself."

Kagami-kun smirks, a short laugh leaving him, causing Kuroko to turn towards him. "I was wondering what you had to say. Is that all, you idiot?" His red eyes glow with the excitement of a challenge, and, not for the first time, Kuroko is grateful that her light doesn't shy away when presented with a seemingly unsurmountable obstacle, because for sure, fighting his brother on the court will prove to be one of the hardest things he will ever have to face in life. "I already noticed. He smells completely different now!" Ignoring the bewildered looks thrown his way, Kagami-kun turns to face Himuro-san completely. Making his way to the center circle, he crouches slightly, shifting into position as naturally as he breathes air. "We probably can't afford to be careless. Let's give it everything we have from the start!"

_"It's the tip off!"_

The ball shoots up into the air. Just as it reaches its highest peak, a candy bar is placed directly on top of it.

Frozen, the players and the crowd can only watch as the ball falls and lands neatly into the large palm of, for lack of a better word, a giant. "Sorry," a childish voice drawls as the hand shifts the ball around to grab hold of the bar. "Could you wait a minute?"

Kuroko lets out a soft breath at the sight of her enormous teammate. _I guess he is_.

"You're late, Atsushi," Himuro-san reprimands the purple-haired behemoth, who merely replies with a flippant apology and an excuse of being lost.

After watching the exchange, Kuroko bows her head, finally able to greet him. It was quite frustrating how he somehow always managed to slip by her, especially after the Kaijo vs Touou match. "It's been a while, Murasakibara-kun."

Kagami-kun's eyes widen and his head whips back to stare up at Murasakibara-kun, obviously recognizing the name.

Murasakibara-kun blinks in surprise before a wide grin pulls at his lips. "Ara? It's Kuro-chin. What are you doing here? You look as serious as ever. You're so serious..." He lazily walks up to Kuroko, casting a shadow over her with his domineering height.

"I want to crush you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Please excuse the random official sounding BS that I threw in, hoping that it actually made sense.
> 
> **The anime subtitles that I watched said 50th while wikia says 100th, so I'm not quite sure which is which. I'll leave it as 50th for now.
> 
> I just realized that this may be a bit confusing, so I'll just stick it here now. The way alternating POVs work in this is that there will usually be a "main narrator" for each chapter. Occasionally, the POV will suddenly shift, either characterized by a line break or by a sudden shift in the way I spell names.
> 
> Here's the tricky part: the names. For the majority of the chapter, I refer to each character the way the "main narrator" usually would. However, when the POV alternates, all the names will just be their family name, no matter what. That's a pretty good way to tell when the POV has shifted.
> 
> Sorry if it's confusing, but hopefully you guys get it! If not, don't be afraid to ask or anything-I really want to clear up any confusion.


	4. Fourth: Preachers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Chapter 4! 
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

"O-Oi!" Kagami blanches at the sight of Murasakibara towering over Tetsuya, who, despite her obvious predicament, is as calm and unemotional as ever. "What do you think you're doing?" Just as he reaches out to pull the purple-haired giant away from his shadow, the guy reaches out with a single widespread hand.

Just as Kagami is sure that Tetsuya is about to become a pancake _(please don't haunt me for not saving you-or, even worse, force Nigou to haunt me!)_ , Murasakibara merely lands a heavy hand on top of Tetsuya's head, messily ruffling the sky blue locks. "As if. I'm just kidding."

Everyone stares, stupefied at the sight of the enormous teen lightly rubbing the much smaller girl's hair after having stated that he wanted to crush her. After a few moments, Tetsuya's eyes narrow and she smacks her ex-teammate's hand away from her hair. This action draws even more shocked reactions from her current teammates, who have never seen her do anything so harsh. "Please don't do that."

"Oh, are you mad?" Muraskibara drawls, dropping his hand to his side. "I'm sorry." He doesn't sound apologetic at all as he slowly straightens, his grin from earlier softening slightly. Kagami scowls, clenching his fists as his sides. _That's my partner, damn it! That being said...this guy...I walked past him at the Inter High._ The height and the purple hair are certainly memorable things. _This guy is the Generation of Miracles' center, Mursakibara Atsushi!_

"I though you weren't coming."

Kagami blinks, turning his head to face his brother. Tatsuya is smiling warmly, much more genuinely than before...a sharp pain stabs through his chest, and he scowls.

Murasakibara truns as well, lifting the basketball he had stolen from the air up in one hand before tossing it at Tatsuya, who easily catches it. "Actually, it's your fault for changing our meeting place at the last second." With his now free hand, he reaches into the plastic grocery bag hanging from his arm (how had Kagami not noticed this earlier?), pulling out a bag of chips. Opening it, Murasakibara pops a chip into his mouth, loudly munching on it. "I'm only here because you said you wanted to go see Tokyo since you came back to Japan. Turns out you were playing streetball."

Tatsuya laughs. "Sorry, sorry. They said they were down a player, and it sounded like fun." He nods his head towards the group of guys gathered together some feet away from him, stupefied looks on their faces-probably wondering how Tatsuya knows one of the Generation of Miracles.

"Hey-!" Furihata gasps behind Kagami. "Yosen played in the Inter-Highs, right?"

"What?" Fukuda breathes in response, eyes locked on the enormous form of the number one center in front of them. "That means that _he_ played in the Inter-Highs, too?"

Murasakibara, overhearing them, turns around, pausing from eating a chip. He ignores the way the two first years jump at being directly addressed by him. "No, I didn't play."

Kagami's eyes widen as confusion swirls through him. What kind of basketball team _wouldn't_ use one of the Miracles to play in a game?

Furihata, seemingly thinking along the same lines, gathers his courage to question, "What? Why not?"

Murasakibara shrugs, taking a bite out of his chip. After finishing it, he picks up another one and replies, "I don't know. I mean, the only reason I didn't play is because Aka-chin told me not to." He smiles, eating the chip before lightly licking the residue of salt off of his fingers.

Everyone except for Tetsuya seems confused as to who this "Aka-chin" is. Kagami doesn't remember hearing that name when Tetsuya had told him the names of her ex-teammates. Furihata speaks up again, asking the question on their minds. "And Aka-chin is...?"

Instead of Murasakibara answering, Tetsuya does, probably due to the fact that Murasakibara is eating another chip. "Seijuro." At the even more confused looks she garners, she internally sighs (Kagami is proud that he is able to see a little bit beyond her emotionless mask) before clarifying. "Akashi Seijuro. Murasakibara-kun is talking about the former captain of the Generation of Miracles."

At that, Kagami whips his head to look at her, as her other teammates do the same. _Captain of the Generation of Miracles...I wonder what he's like._

"Oh." Everyone turns back to look at Murasakibara at his short exclamation. Once again, he ignores all of the looks in favor of turning to Tatsuya, popping another chip into his mouth. "I forgot. Muro-chin-" Kagami splutters slightly at the ridiculous nickname. "-we can't play in unofficial games. That's why I came here to stop you."

Tatsuya blinks, glancing down at the basketball in his hands before looking back up at Murasakibara. "I see. That's a shame."

"Let's go," Murasakibara says, reaching out a hand and clasping Tatsuya's shoulder. He pushes the other boy forward, but Kagami isn't about to let him escape.

"Hey, wait a moment." Kagami grabs Murasakibara's shoulder, a challenge practically written across his face, despite the fact that the other teen's broad shoulders are almost too big for his entire hand to hold. _That's a ridiculous amount of muscle!_ "You can't just barge in here and leave like that. Stay a while and play." Even though he can practically hear his teammates' chiding and/or panicking thoughts, he continues to stare down the relaxed face of one Muraskibara Atsushi, unwilling to step down. _I can't keep my mouth shout with a member of the Generation of Miracles right in front of me! And I won't let him get in the way of my game against Tatsuya either!_

When Murasakibara reaches out with his finger, Kagami thinks that he's accepting the challenge, when he suddenly grabs hold of the hairs of one of his eyebrows and yanks. Hard.

Kagami grunts as an explosion of pain blooms across the top of his face, gaping at the sight of a patch of his eyebrows dangling from the loose fingers of the bastard's hand. He barely registers the teen's questions of, "What's going on with your eyebrows? Why are they split in two?" in favor of screaming, "Ow! What the hell are you doing!"

Murasakibara ignores Kagami's shout, only further infuriating the riled up teen, in favor of examining the eyebrow hairs. "Woah, so long."

"You-are you even listening to me?"

"Huh? Say what?"

"I told you to _play_!"

"Naw, that's so tiring though..."

As the two continue to fight, Furihata remarks, much calmer than before, "He's not how I expected him to be."

Fukuda nods, eyes on the almost comical situation before them. "Mmm, and he sure is weird."

Kuroko, her eyes not straying from the two teens in front of her, softly interjects. "His head is a bit messed up for everything other than basketball. A lot like an idiot savant athlete. While he possesses great talent in one field, he's incompetent at everything else."

Furihata blinks, clearly unable to comprehend the idea of someone who is a part of a group with the moniker of "Generation of Miracles" being... "...an idiot?"

"However, he becomes unstoppable the moment he steps on the court," Kuroko confirms in a rather roundabout way, just as the one-sided fight comes to an end.

"Oh, shut up. Muro-chin, let's go now." Murasakibara once again completely disregards the fuming Kagami, turning and pushing Tatsuya forward, away from the court.

Kagami scowls, glaring at the purple-haired teen's retreating back. _What's_ with _this guy? He's behaving like a little kid!_ A sudden epiphany hits him. _A kid?_ A wide smirk spreads across his lips, and he strikes a smug, relaxed pose, raising his voice. "Man, I'm just _so_ disappointed." He practically drips condescension as the words pour like acid out of his mouth, seeking his target. "I didn't know you were such a _coward_." Murasakibara comes to a stop, and Kagami lets a dumb smile cross his face as he continues with his provocation. "Running away, huh? How _lame_."

Furihata and Fukuda both blanch, sourer expressions twisting their features with every word that comes out of Bakagami's mouth. "Kagami!" Furihata hisses. "Are you... _trying_ to provoke him?"

Fukuda swallows before stating, "There's no way he'd fall for-"

Murasakibara raises his head, cutting off Fukuda's words. His eyes glare down at a smug Kagami, having already taken the bait. "What? I'm not running away."

The two first years shout in unison, completely shocked. "He fell for it?"

Kagami, not sensing the anger of not only his two fellow first years, but also Tetsuya herself, taunts, "Hey, don't push yourself too hard. You're scared."

"I'm not pushing myself too hard. And I'm not scared either."

A few minutes later, Murasakibara is all suited up in the uniform of the makeshift team. The three other people gape up at his tremendous height, even as he stays completely focused on a smirking Kagami. Standing in position, the two teens are ready to square off-Murasakibara because the insults of a seven-year-old work on him, Kagami because he never seems to learn the virtue of patience.

The referee stands on the court, holding the basketball in his right hand. With his left, he lifts his whistle up to his mouth. "Let the game begin!"

"Stupid, stupid!" Kagami continues to taunt Murasakibara, who responds to the childish insult with his own.

"I know you are, but what am I?"

"What are they, little kids?" Furihata groans, Fukuda nodding vigorously beside him.

Kiyoshi-senpai finally steps in, lightly pushing Kagami behind him as he says in a reprimanding tone, "Kagami, that's enough now. I'll be the one to guard him because of my position. There's no way you can guard them both on your own?"

 _Both?_ Confused, Kagami stares at Kiyoshi-senpai who glances to the left. "You're up against _him_."

Kagami's eyes narrow, any previous wish to face one-on-one against Murasakibara fading away at the sight of Tatsuya. _How could I have forgotten?_ "Yeah."

With Kagami's eyes focused on Tatsuya, there leaves no room for discussion as to who he'll be marking. Even Murasakibara can tell, and for that reason, he glances around, now slightly lost. "Huh? Then that makes my opponent..."

"It's been a while." Kiyoshi-senpai's smile is still there, but an underlying steel shows in his eyes that makes Kagami think that maybe the interruption wasn't just for _his_ sake. "I haven't seen you since middle school."

Murasakibara tilts his head up, eyes still glaring downwards. "Who are you?"

The steel in Kiyoshi-senpai's eyes disappear, and he lets out a sound of surprise. A moment later, another smile spreads across his face, much more exasperated than before. "Good grief. You don't remember me?"

"Did we play against each other in middle school?" Everyone can hear the unspoken _was it even important?_ in his words. Without waiting for an answer, he glances towards Tetsuya. "Kuro-chin, did we?" When she nods, he merely shrugs, dismissing the entire matter. "I forgot. I don't bother remembering weak guys."

Kagami's gaze stays on Tetsuya, so he's the only one who notices the slight glare she levels at Murasakibara's head and her clenching fist.

When the tipoff comes around, Kagami pushes himself has hard as possible to jump, just barely managing to tap the ball to the side into Fukuda's waiting hands. He can hear Murasakibara's slightly surprised exclamation as the megaphones announce, _"Team Seirin takes the ball!"_

Fukuda immediately passes the ball to Furihata, slipping in between the shoddy defenses of the opposing team. Kiyoshi glances at Kuroko, only having to say her name in order to prompt her to nod. "I understand. Actually, his attitude made me a bit mad, too."

Furihata shifts from side to side on his pivot foot before glancing to one side, leaning his weight to one side. His mark, thinking that he's about to pass, moves that way when, without looking, Fruihata throws the ball directly at Tetsuya, a blur of white and pink appearing between the two. Just as the ball is about to pass her, Tetsuya pulls her arm back and _punches_ the ball. It accelerates upwards, slamming into Kiyoshi-senpai's hand.

"It's an Ignite Pass to Kiyoshi-senpai!" Fukuda shouts joyfully, not noticing the slightly pained look on Kiyoshi-senpai's face from managing to catch it. Kagami can relate, having first caught the pass when he least expected it during the Shutoku match, although he hadn't exactly been hurt to the point of tears.

Without preamble, Kiyoshi-senpai brings his hand up and forward, slamming the ball into the hoop, scoring the first two points of the quarter within seconds. Murasakibara merely stands under the hoop, a glare on his face as the ball falls through the net.

The crowd gasps in delight and awe as Kiyoshi-senpai lands on the ground before addressing Murasakibara. "Maa, it's too bad that you forgot about me. I'll _make_ you remember who I am through basketball."

Murasakibara closes his eyes, shaking his head. "No, that's enough. I remember you, Kiyoshi Teppei."A dark look passes across his face, and Kagami swallows at the almost demonic look. "I feel motivated now." Dark clouds slowly rolls over the sky, causing several people to look up, wondering if it's going to rain. "It may have been better if I hadn't remembered." Turning around, Murasakibara bends down to pick up the basketball, the dark look from earlier disappearing into his usual relaxed one.

Tatsuya calls from behind him, "Atsushi, could you hold yourself back for a bit longer?" Murasakibara doesn't answer, merely tossing to basketball harder than before into Tatsuya's waiting hand. "Since we're a pick-up team, we need to define our roles. Atsushi, you concentrate on the defense. I'll take care of the offense."

"Sure, got it."

"What? He's not trying to score?" one of the members of their team asks Tatsuya as they run to the opposite end of the court, leaving Murasakibara behind to stand at the hoop.

"Yeah, don't worry though," Tatsuya states confidently, still dribbling the ball. "That's Atsushi's style. Besides..." A smile comes across his face as Kagami comes up to square off, his face pinched in concentration. "I'm more than enough."

Kagami's eyes narrow at the quiet confidence in Tatsuya's voice before the two burst into motion. Kagami matches Tatsuya move for move until the latter leaps up, aims, and shoots. Kagami, having followed him up into the air mere seconds after his initial jump, watches as the ball merely soars above and over his fingertips by a margin the size of a hand, neatly _wooshing_ into the net. Kagami can't look away from the hoop, unable to get the image of the shot out of his mind. _So slow...how did I not get that?_

"Furihata, don't just stand there!" Kiyoshi-senpai's shout breaks the players on court out of their stupors. "Restart, restart!"

"Y-Yes!" Furihata calls back, shakily running over to pick the ball up. Everyone, especially the crowd, is still silent, trying to process just what happened in their minds. A slow motion shot...what?

 _"Even the commentators are speechless!"_ the announcer shouts, tearing into the silence. _"What a beautiful shot!"_

As Furihata throws the ball to Fukuda and the players on the court all begin to run to the other side, Kagami continues to puzzle over the shot-one that he hadn't seen before. He can't figure it out-all he saw was the smoothness of the shot from setup to the actual release of the ball, and even then, he can't quite understand just what made it fly like that.

The sky continues to grow more overcast as the game continues, rain droplets beginning to fall to the ground. Fukuda dribbles the ball, undeterred by the light drizzle, determined to win the game. A light, "Fukuda-kun, give me the ball." sounds from beside him, and without hesitation, he throws it towards the source of the sound, where a waiting Tetsuya raises her arm to Ignite Pass the ball to Kagami's hand.

 _Don't just stand there!_ he snarls in his mind, putting in a burst of speed, ignoring the water that has started to sting his eyes.

"A fast break?"

"What was that pass?"

"Let's go, Murasakibara!" Kagami shouts, ignoring the murmurings of the crowd around him. When he comes to a stop in front of the relaxed center, he stiffens upon seeing that the little boy stuck in a teenager's body has his hands in the pockets of his pants, looking for all the world as if he's sleeping standing up.

"Man, you're smothering me," Murasakibara whines, making no move to steal the ball from Kagami, who continues to stand in front of him, bouncing the ball up and down. "Don't be so zealous." When he finally takes his hand out of his pocket, he holds it in the same widespread position he had used on Tetsuya earlier, except this time, Kagami is sure that the purple-haired giant is joking. "It makes me want to crush you."

 _What?_ Kagami's eyes narrow as he warily watches Murasakibara's every move, waiting for the catch. _I don't know what's going on, but this guy's trouble!_

The light sprinkle quickly turns into a heavy downpour, giving everyone a premature shower. Kagami finally notices the rain, glancing up at the sky. Murasakibara raises his hand, staring at the droplets that have collected on his palm. A whistle blows as the spectators scramble to leave, some holding newspapers and arms over their heads, others holding umbrellas and jackets.

_"We have an announcement to make. The game will be suspended. Players and referees, please return to the tents."_

"Sorry, but we'll have to settle this later."

Kagami glances at Tatsuya, who merely begins to walk out of the court. "Wait, Tatsuya!"

When Kagami steps in front of him to stop his exit, Tatsuya sighs. "I want to keep playing, too, but they'll have to cancel the game eventually because of the rain. It's too dangerous to play basketball on a slippery court. Besides, you wouldn't want your senior to injure himself again,would you?"

Kiyoshi, upon hearing Himuro's words, turns his head to the side, a surprised exhalation coming out of his mouth. _This guy...how did he know?_

The words seem to have gone through one ear and out the other, because Kagami completely ignores them, raising the basketball in his hand and throwing it onto the slippery court. The ball bounces back up, landing neatly in Tatsuya's hands. He doesn't look at all surprised. "But I finally got to see you. I'll leave you a gift. It's a technique that you don't know about."

Everyone except for Murasakibara turns towards the duo, their interests piqued at Himuro's words. Even Kuroko takes a step closer, her eyes running over Himuro's form. His knees are slightly bent as he holds the basketball with two hands in front of his body. She can't figure out what he's about to do. Her eyes aren't what they used to be.

Tatsuya jumps into the air, falling naturally into the shooting form, and Kagami follows. He's still extremely confused. _It's just a jump shot? I can easily block-_

The ball leaves Tatsuya's hand, and before their very eyes, it passes straight _through_ Kagami's hands, landing neatly into the hoop without touching the rim.

 _WHAT?_ Kagami's jaw hits the floor as he finds himself falling back to the ground. _What just happened? My block was perfectly timed for a simple jump shot!_

He lands on his feet, straightening up to stare at Tatsuya. _But he passed_ through _my block?_

"See you later," Tatsuya says, as if he hadn't just done broken the laws of physics. "If we meet again-"

"It'll be this winter," Kiyoshi-senpai interrupts, a smile on his face. As if he hadn't just witnessed Tatsuya breaking the laws of physics. Glancing around, Kagami realizes that only the people of the crowd who had decided to stay, himself, and Furihata and Fukuda seem to have the _"what the hell was that?"_ reaction to Tatsuya's shot. "Next time we play, it'll be in our uniforms."

"You still haven't learned your lesson," Murasakibara grumbles, a slightly frustrated look on his face. "And I beat you so badly last time, too."

"Maa, yeah," Kiyoshi-senpai replies with a bright smile, completely at ease. _This guy really is weird!_

Tatsuya and Murasakibara make their ways off the court, and Kagami can only watch as they do so. The latter stops for a moment in order to pet Tetsuya's hair again with a lazy, "See you later, Kuro-chin."

She responds by slapping his hand away again and stating crisply, "Don't do that."

"Oh, sorry. Are you mad?"

_Why do I sense déjà vu?_

"Murasakibara-kun." Tetsuya stares up at him, her face as unreadable as ever, except this time, her fists are clenched at her sides. "Do you still find basketball boring?"

At her words, a dark look comes across Murasakibara's face, and he moves languidly past her, with a drawling threat thrown easily over his shoulder. "If you keep talking about that, I'll crush even you, Kuro-chin." He slows to a stop before turning around, finding Tetsuya's blank gaze drilling into him. "I don't know what it's like to have fun. Is it not enough that I like winning and that I'm good at it?" Turning back around, he throws his hand up into the air and carelessly waves it, leaving the street court for good. "Maa, if you have anything to say, I'll hear you out. At the Winter Cup, that is."

And thus ends the first meeting between the fourth member of the Generation of Miracles and Seirin High.

* * *

"That greeting just now was pretty threatening."

Tetsuya glances up at Kagami who is sitting next to her on the train back to school. After they left the courts, they found some shelter and dried off. During that time, Coach called Kagami and told him to take the rest of the team back to the school, so here they are now, waiting for their stop.

"You two don't get along?"

Tetsuya shakes her head, turning her head to stare down at Nigou, who's hiding in her bag. After his little appearance to calm down Kagami, he had disappeared, and when they finally started to leave the court, she almost broke her mask when she couldn't find him-almost, but he was apparently curled up under a bench, shivering and soaking wet. Even then, that was the most emotion that the four other Seirin players had ever seen her show. "It's nothing like that. If anything, I like him the best. However, we don't get along as athletes. He doesn't like basketball. Although he never liked it, he was extremely good at it. He never cared, and yet he still knew what to do. A prodigy, but a prodigy without a passion. Despite his lack of interest, he became an overwhelmingly strong center. He truly believes that it doesn't matter if he likes basketball since he has the talent anyways, and he hates players who love the game but aren't very good at it."

Kagami, despite not quite understanding everything that his partner is saying, at least understands a little bit about why Murasakibara was acting the way he was. _A superiority complex...or something along those line?_

As the train comes to their stop and they step off, following the crowd out of the station and back towards their school, Tetsuya continues. "It's true that it takes more to win than just loving the game, I do admit that. But you can work hard because you love it." The words strike Kagami, and he stops for a moment to stare at her. She continues to move forward, either having not noticed him or ignoring him. "And when you win that way, your joy comes from the bottom of your heart. That's why I like basketball..."

She glances up at Kagami, and he's surprised (and grateful) to see a small smile gracing her lips.

"...And I like Seirin because everyone here loves basketball."

And for the time being, nothing except for that warm feeling matters to the five of them.


	5. Fifth: Surrogates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Protective Fuji for the win. 
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Fuji Syuusuke is Ryo-chan's teammate.

By extension, that means that he is her (self-appointed) brother.

Therefore, he has _every_ right to take every chance possible to express his concern over his little sister's choice in companionship (then again, even if he _doesn't_ have the right-which he _clearly_ doesn't-he would do it anyways, just for shits and giggles).

That includes the following:

1) When waking her up at six-thirty in the morning to make sure that she isn't late for practice (all while dodging the flying alarm clocks and screamed profanities aimed his way)

2) When walking her to practice (even though she's practically sleeping on her feet)

3) During the entirety of the two hour long practice itself (all while dodging the flying tennis balls and burning glares aimed his way)

4) When walking her to her classroom (even though she's practically sleeping on her feet)

5) During any break in between classes in which he can sneak into her classroom (all while dodging the flying sucker punches and baleful pouts aimed his way)

6) When eating lunch with the rest of the team (even though everything goes in one ear and out of the other whenever she's eating)

7) During the entirety of afternoon practice (all while dodging the flying rackets and frustrated grumbles aimed his way)

8) When hanging out (uninvited) in her room until curfew (even though she's practically sleeping the entire time, and he's not supposed to be in the girls' dorm in the first place)

In general, he will (and _has_ and _will continue to_ ) hound her day and night over the fact that she has struck up a rather... _odd_ relationship with a boy whose reputation far precedes him. He would never outright say this (although he's sure that almost everyone of the regulars knows already-after all, there's a reason that they were all accepted into _Rakuzan_ , not to mention becomes regulars in their _first year_ ), but he's worried about his adorable little sister.

Besides, the very fact that he has been unable to do the aforementioned eight things for the past few days is unsettling in and of itself. No matter how much Ryo-chan complained in the past of him smothering or stalking her, she would eventually relent, albeit reluctantly, with a small smile on her face, and Fuji would know that she's happy, grateful even, and not for the first time, he would wonder why, but would never ask.

The point is: Ryo-chan has found someone else.

And that makes Fuji feel...bitter.

It's a horrible feeling, he decides as he watches Ryo-chan run off immediately after practice, off to go meet up with her new "friend." The tennis season is over, so despite continuing to practice, it has been cut short, and that leaves more than enough time for her to hang out with the basketball team. Fuji knows that they're practicing hard for the Winter Cup (honestly, in Rakuzan, you would have to be blind _and_ deaf to not know as much), but what he _doesn't_ know is just _why_ exactly Ryo-chan is bothering to go out of her way to hang out with them.

All of the regulars, having known her for the past couple of years, know that she never really cares for much besides tennis, Ponta, and her cat, Karupin. Her lack of interest in anything other than those three things has been a recurring concern for many a person, among them being her teachers, her fellow tennis players, and, admittedly, Fuji himself (although that _is_ rather hypocritical of him). It's a wonder that she managed to test into Rakuzan, not to mention skipping two entire grades to join her senpai-tachi (or rather, the few that were smart enough to enter one of the top high schools of Japan), when she has never given academics a passing thought of being something other than irritatingly mandatory.

Fuji would like to think that she tried so hard for the sake of him (and the others, something that he conveniently happens to forget), but sometimes, when he watches her play tennis, it certainly doesn't feel like she's having fun.

She hasn't used Tenimuhou no Kiwami ever since her match against Seiichi during National finals last year.

"Syuusuke."

Fuji glances away from Ryo-chan's retreating back to look at Seiichi, whose ever eternal smile much like his own slowly fades away upon seeing his face. "What's wrong?"

"What makes you think anything is wrong?" Fuji forces his voice to stay in its perpetual softness, hitching his tennis bag higher up onto his shoulder. Seiichi merely continues to stare Fuji down while the latter moves away, refusing to answer. Before the brown-haired teen can leave, though, a hand clamps down on his shoulder, and he finds himself looking up Kunimitsu. The grandpa-stuck-in-a-teenager's-body shakes his head, gesturing with his free hand towards the court. Knowing that he doesn't have a choice in this (Fuji absolutely _loathes_ not having a choice), Fuji's smile strains slightly as he moves back into the cage. Luckily, neither he nor Kunimitsu have to change into their tennis gear, having decided since the beginning of the school year that it would be much more efficient to squeeze in extra practice after the official practice hours are over and changing while taking a shower in the comfort of their dorms instead of the locker rooms.

Once he reaches the first court, he lets the bag slip off of his shoulder, taking out one of his rackets. Kunimitsu does the same, and the two step onto the court. Without having to be asked, Seiichi climbs up onto the referee chair. Fuji lightly spins his racket. When it lands on rough, he and Kunimitsu move to their respective base lines and with a toss, Kunimitsu serves.

When it proves to be a regular serve (though "regular" to both the teens means "pro-level" to others), Fuji sighs internally and braces himself for a long rally.

An hour later and five-hundred regular rallies, Kunimitsu finally catches the ball in his hand, not even flinching as the friction of the ball creates a bloom of red on his palm. After all, his hands are well calloused and weathered from years of holding a racket. Neither of them are out of breath, even as in unison, they move off court.

Fuji is slightly frustrated that he has wasted an hour playing around, but at the same time, he reluctantly admits (to himself, and only ever to himself) that he has calmed down. "Kunimitsu."

"Let's go out for a walk. You're welcome to join, Seiichi."

The blue-haired teen smiles brightly, a spark of amusement dancing in his eyes as he shakes his head. All three of them know that it was more of a warning than an invitation. "I wouldn't want to impose even more than I already have." His smile widens. "Ryoma sure is lucky to have such dedicated upperclassmen."

It takes all of Fuji's so-called "self-control" to not hit a Tsubame Gaeshi directly at Seiichi's head.

* * *

"Kunimitsu..." Fuji's voice is as soft and unassuming as ever (well, as unassuming as possible, considering just who is speaking), but the underlying edge of steel is usually enough to cause even someone as stubborn as Kunimitsu to back off.

Key word: usually.

It seems that right now is not "usually," and that is how Fuji finds himself standing in front of the gym where the basketball regulars practice every single day, a bitter taste burning the back of his throat (which is weird, because he's sure that his taste buds have died years ago-or at least, have been warped enough for him to not even register the taste of something in his mind). In any other case, he would be applauding Kunimitsu's uncharacteristic shrewdness and show of stellar intelligence gathering (it's not exactly impressive when compared to Sadaharu or Renji or even Fuji himself, but for someone like Kunimitsu who tends to take things step-by-step while relying on others to bring the information to him, it's an improvement) if not for the fact that those very uncharacteristic characteristics are now forcing him to do something that he has no wish to force himself to undergo.

"The best way to address the problem is to do so directly," Kunimitsu replies, nodding towards the double doors. His stern expression doesn't falter even when Fuji levels icy, open eyes on his person-in fact, it only seems to strengthen. "You are not the only one who is worried about Echizen-chan, Syuusuke. I will not beat around the bush when saying that the entire tennis club sees her as their precious little sister, me included. I will not let you selfishly continue this farce that you have been pulling until you confront Akashi Seijūrō on your own. it may not be in your character, but it's the least you can do for her. She's worried about you, if you haven't noticed."

Fuji frowns, his eyes sliding closed (it's one of the few times that he has willingly backed down from a challenge-and he certainly, and foolishly, hopes that it will be the last). It's true that he can't act completely innocent in this, not that he ever pretended to be in the first place. He'd have to be blind to not notice the slight frowns on Ryo-chan's face every time he brushes off her unspoken questions. Despite the fact that he's been even more clingy than usual ever since her first meeting with the red-haired freak-wait, actually, _especially_ because he's been even more clingy, her confusion has been mounting and growing, and he doesn't really do much to help with his vague, run about answers to supposedly blunt, straight-forward questions that have "Ryo-chan" written all over them, nor does his attempts to manipulate her into doing things that she clearly doesn't want to do (read: not spending time with the boy who has incited Fuji's ire partly due to the fact that if Fuji ever tries to do something to him, Ryo-chan will never speak to him ever again) shed any sort of light on a situation that he wants to keep under wraps-at least, when it comes to Ryo-chan. The entire world can know what he's trying to do (in fact, he's pretty sure that they already _do_ ), as long as Ryo-chan remains as oblivious to it as she has been since she first joined Seigaku two years ago.

And it's only for her sake that he steels himself (once again using all of his "self-control" to keep from smashing Kunimitsu's head into the wall to avoid seeing that approving nod and self-satisfied smirk-or at least, what _counts_ as one-ever again) and pushes open the doors.

The gym echoes with noises, all of which assault Fuji's hearing the moment he steps in. Used to the quiet _pok_ of tennis balls on smooth pavement with only the sounds of his and his opponent's breathing and (on good days) the breeze to accompany a game, the sudden sharp raps of basketballs hitting smooth flooring, the squeak of shoes across the slick courts, the _wooshing_ of the net, the harsh buzzer of the scoreboard (he realizes belatedly that he has just interrupted a practice game, and- _oh, shit, a guy that looks twice his size and thrice Ryo-chan's is staring him down, and Fuji isn't usually one to panic, but-damn those_ muscles), the ringing shouts of players on court and off court-he is _overwhelmed_.

Fuji Syuusuke, acknowledged (appointed, really) tensai, is _overwhelmed_ by a sport that is not his own.

He immediately detests everything and everyone in that gym, and the sentiment in and of itself surprises him. He's always considered himself a rather logical person-after all, he's never had much passion, much drive for anything other than beating Kunimitsu, and even when Ryo-chan first showed up and played that absolutely _thrilling_ game in the rain, he had never been as incited as when standing on the court opposite of Kunimitsu. Without passion, without drive, that doesn't really leave much room for emotional responses (except for when his treasured people get hurt-then, emotional responses are what completely and utterly _consume_ him), and logic is what he turns to, since there is nothing else. However, it is not logical whatsoever for this dark and ugly feeling to rear its head in his chest, and since none of his treasured ones are being hurt by this sport (unless Ryo-chan is hiding something from him, and if he ever finds out that she actually _is_ and what exactly that something is, he will go on a rampage), there is clearly no explanation.

So that leaves him with the question of _why_?

Before he has time to ponder it even more than he already has, a shrill whistle cuts through his thoughts, and he raises his head, slightly startled, but refuses to let it show. At the same time, the players leave the court, some of them shooting the intruder confused and slightly wary looks, but then a voice questions, "Suke-senpai?" and everyone relaxes.

Only one person calls him that.

"Ryo-chan." Fuji's eyes open as he watches her make her way towards him from her previous position on one of the benches sitting a few feet away from the courts, a confused and (no, there definitely is _not_ a warm, tingling feeling in the pit of his stomach, because Fuji Syuusuke is a _logical_ person, not easily swayed by emotions, and she's _clearly_ not hurt if the hyper jump every other step indicates anything) slightly _warm_ expression on her face, and no, he definitely is _not_ disappointed to see it disappear when she finally comes to a stop in front of him.

Ever the polite kohai (which in and of itself both astounds people and endears her to them), she bows-well, dips her head in acknowledgement towards him and then Kunimitsu who had walked in to stand behind him, and even though Fuji isn't looking at him, he knows that the bastard still sports that smug expression from before. While not privy to the inner workings of Fuji's brain, the two have been acquainted long enough for Kunimitsu to know him quite well...

Well enough to quietly laugh at him from behind his stoic mask.

Two people soon follow Ryo-chan, who has just opened her mouth to speak, when the presence of a hand on her shoulder causes her mouth to snap shut. Even Kunimitsu can't hide his surprise at the easily docile action as the usually bratty, extremely independent (to the point of causing even Keigo to almost tear his hair out after not having been in contact with her for two days, only to find that she had fallen asleep under one of the trees in one of the many public areas of Rakuzan) first year steps aside to allow the redhead from before to step up, his heterochromatic eyes intently studying Fuji almost to the point of discomfort, but never being one to let anyone (especially an enemy) see past him, Fuji only widens his smile, making sure that there isn't a single crack in his armor. It's a silent challenge to the boy's superiority (yes, Fuji has heard the rumors, especially the ones circling around the strange group of rainbow-headed boys called the "Generation of Miracles"-after all, he's not as oblivious as Ryo-chan, who he doubts even knows the name of the guy standing next to her, much less who he is), and if the slight twitch of his fingers is anything to go by, then Fuji's challenge has been noticed and accepted.

Kunimitsu, who is far too familiar with the way Fuji's mind works in his opinion, steps forward, effectively breaking eye contact (well, eye-to-eyelid contact). It is then that Fuji finally notices the second person-a man with gray and black hair, dressed stiffly and formally in a suit and tie, an aura of intimidation and expectation of respect surrounding him. _This must be the coach_. (He ignores the snarky voice in the back of his head that sounds a bit too much like Jirou on a good day-when he's awake-that says, "No shit, Sherlock.")

"This is a closed practice area," the coach speaks sternly, and Fuji is suddenly hit with a bout of nostalgia. It's not as if there's anything particularly feminine about the other man-if anything, he practically oozes masculinity, but his words, the tone of his voice, and even the way in which he speaks them reminds Fuji of Coach Ryuzaki. The Rakuzan tennis coach is one of the top in his line of work, but he lacks _something_ , a certain _quality_ that Fuji just can't quite put his finger on right now, and when the basketball coach speaks again, he carefully and quickly tucks it away to the back of his mind to review and think over later. "Unless it is an emergency, we will have to assume that you are either spies from another school, pranksters thinking that you're about to have a great time, or-" And at this point, even the coach himself looks as if he doesn't believe a word that's coming out of his mouth. "-fanboys."

Fuji shakes his head, smile widening. "I'm one of Ryo-chan's teammates." He ignores the glare that she directs at him in response to his nickname for her. After all, she should be used to it by now-he's been calling her that since they first met, so much so that despite all of her grumbles and complaints, she immediately responds to it even when it doesn't come from his lips.

When he doesn't further elaborate, Kunimitsu clears his throat, bringing attention to him. Shooting Fuji an impassive look that practically screams his disapproval, he elaborates. "What Syuusuke means to say is that he's been worried about Echizen-chan lately and knows that she's been coming here after practice for the past few days."

Both the redhead and the coach's eyes narrow at Kunimitsu's words, and just as Fuji is sure that they're about to claim _bullshit_ (which Fuji wouldn't mind-not only would it take him away from this place, but both he and Kunimitsu have already intrigued Ryo-chan enough that she would follow them even if they did leave), the redhead speaks up. "Worried? Is there something that we need to be worried about, Ryoma?"

Fuji doesn't immediately hate the person standing across from him-no, he immediately _loathes_ him, and the intensity of the feelings that erupt within him both startles and incites him. He doesn't like the familiarity that is implied by the other boy's casual address of Ryo-chan (which might be the pot calling the kettle black, considering the amount of times he practically shoved his own nickname down her throat), nor does he like his drawling, languid speech and the glint in his eyes that tells Fuji that he is immensely pleased with the outcome of this situation, and that is the only thing that makes Fuji willingly calm down.

Ryo-chan frowns, glancing at Fuji before shaking her head. "Not that I know of, but if Suke-senpai and Mitsu-buchou came all the way here, I'm sure that it's something important."

And despite the fact that Fuji is currently on a mental battlefield with the "Demon Emperor" (which Fuji personally finds to be a rather unsavory moniker), he can't stop himself from appreciating the fact that between the school years and the transition from junior high to high school, Ryo-chan had grown much more sociable and (though she would never say it to anyone else, and the very fact that only Fuji and Jirou know less than half of it shows that she's very serious about keeping that promise) regained a good portion of her lost confidence. She doesn't shy away from confrontation anymore-well, she never has, but that was only in the case of tennis. Where she used to hide behind her Fila cap and her arrogant demeanor, she now willingly participates even when conversations are steered in directions that she doesn't feel comfortable with (Kunimitsu blames Fuji when she begins to start playing word games, and the latter only laughs in response). It's a _huge_ change to occur during the span of one month, but it's also _good_ change.

The coach frowns before glancing down at the fancy watch on his left wrist. "It looks like practice is over, anyways."

Ryo-chan makes a pitiful little noise in the back of her throat, and really, Fuji _really_ shouldn't be surprised when the man turns towards her and _smiles_ -and it's a nice, genuine smile to boot, an expression that he doubts many can say that they've seen since the man looks like there are frown lines permanently etches across his face. Ryo-chan has always somehow been able to wrap the people surrounding her (mainly the boys) around her little finger, and the slight pang in his chest really _shouldn't_ exist, especially since he of all people knows the unrealistic charisma of the only girl in the gym. "I'm sorry, Echizen. It looks like you have pressing matters to contend with." He glances at the redhead standing beside him, the one who hasn't stopped watching Fuji like a hawk. "Akashi." Heterochromatic eyes move unapologetically slowly to rest on the coach. "You may leave early."

Fuji doesn't let the surprise (he learns once again just _why_ he detests being surprised-somehow, throughout the course of his acquaintance with Ryo-chan, he had forgotten) show at the sharp observation. The redhead nods, a knowing look on his face, and Fuji wonders if it would be rude to use his hair as a mop.

Fuji also wonders just when he had gotten such a violent streak (sadist tendencies aside, he's never been one to use such straightforward methods).

Even as the coach heads back into the gym, shouting last minute instructions about Winter Cup (Fuji doesn't miss the excited look in Ryo-chan's eyes with every word that comes out of the coach's mouth), Fuji, Kunimitsu, Ryo-chan, and the redhead walk out of the gym, a brittle silence in between them all. They all ignore the burning stares directed on their backs as the doors slam closed with a note of finality.

Making their ways to a more secure place, Fuji is pleased when Ryo-chan breaks away from the redhead's side to catch up with him. Falling in step with his slightly longer stride (Fuji had continued growing while Ryo-chan seemed to hit the ceiling of her development over break, which made her pout and sulk for the entire day), she looks up at him, not bothering to hide the inquisitive look in her golden eyes. His smile widens, and she scowls, turning her head firmly away from him. Just as he knows her, she knows him, knows that even the most minute of changes in his expression means that a world of thoughts and emotions and suppressed actions lurks behind it.

It makes for some entertainment when their teammates catch them during one of their silent communications.

After reaching a suitable distance away from the gym, the group of four stops, and the redhead is the first to break the silence with a command. "Speak."

Fuji bristles internally at the superior tone of the bastard in front of him. "Maa, maa, we're both first years here, Akashi. I hardly believe that you are in any position to order any of us to do something."

Akashi's eyes flash, and Fuji's previous sentiment is only reinforced by the dangerous look on the other teen's face (no sane person has those eyes, the ones that scream of merciless ruthlessness). "My orders are absolute. You will speak, or suffer the consequences."

_And I thought Keigo had an ego._

Just before Fuji can open his mouth and the entire conversation spirals into a verbal war, Ryo-chan steps in between the two, her back to Fuji. He feels some sort of satisfaction that she trusts him enough to keep her back to him (although, considering the things that he knows about her, it really isn't as if it was her choice to begin with), even as she reaches into her pocket and pulls out something that glints and sparks in the light, and-

Those are scissors. Really, really sharp scissors.

Akashi calmly backs off, his eyes locked on Ryo-chan's. "When did you take them?"

"On our way here," she replies vaguely, and Fuji's analytical side must be in serious need of medical attention because he realizes belatedly that those scissors belong to _Akashi_ and _shit_ , what the hell is a person who carries scissors around like they're pencils doing one foot away from Ryo-chan? "But that's beside the point. I'm not going to stand by here and watch the two of you fight over something as ridiculous as _your_ inability to follow social cues-" Her eyes cut dangerously towards Fuji, and he swears that he can hear Kunimitsu snickering in the background. "-and _your_ inflated ego disorder." Akashi, in return, doesn't look too bothered by her description of his attitude, although the slight twitching of the corner of his mouth does tell a whole other story. "Now, are we going to play nice here?"

It's a testament to the bond that she has with Fuji and (annoyingly) Akashi when she hands the scissors point first back to its their rightful owner and steps back without having to hear their verbal consent. When a few more seconds of silence pass, Fuji finally decides to stop beating around the bush (read: stalling) to calmly state, "I want you to stay away from Ryo-chan."

Both he and Akashi ignore the indignant splutter from the girl standing beside them. "Unfortunately, I don't believe that I have either the incentive or the need to do that."

Fuji's eyes slit open, and the reluctant respect he has felt for the red-haired bastard in front of him since first meeting him during the beginning of the school year rises again when the teen doesn't so much as flinch when heterochromatic eyes meet icy blue ones. Not many people have ever been able to withstand the piercing quality of his eyes when he opens them, especially not during their first experience with the action. "I don't believe that you are capable of keeping her safe."

Akashi's eyes narrow, and Fuji is slightly taken aback and put off by the genuine concern that flickers within them for a moment before disappearing. "From who?"

"You," Fuji replies simply, for once not in the mood to play around. He is dead serious right now, and he knows that the other three people here know that. "I don't accept you."

"And what makes you think that she cares?" The words shockingly hit dangerously close to home, and Akashi immediately zeroes in on the moment of weakness in Fuji's otherwise impregnable armor. "What does she care about whether or not you accept me? That is purely between me and you, and to her, it doesn't matter. Your very existence in our relationship is, therefore, completely negligible. You are powerless here." Fuji would never let on just how much those words hurt, but he has a feeling that Akashi knows already.

Before he can respond in kind, Ryo-chan finally explodes. "Stop fucking talking about me like I'm not here, damn it, you two!"

The three boys who specialize in concealing their true feelings through different mediums all startle as they turn to stare at her with surprise clearly (well, to her-any passerby would see three completely blank, unperturbed expressions) written across their faces. Her cheeks are flushed red with anger, but not even Fuji is suicidal enough to even _think_ that she's cute when she pins each of them with a glare (even Kunimitsu, though he's pretty sure that that's more because she's frustrated and he's in the vicinity, which therefore means that he's a target as well). "Don't either of you even think for a moment that I can't make my own decisions! I'm not some sort of baby who doesn't understand the world around her. If I say that you two are my friends, _you two are my friends_ , and you guys will either have to get along or never talk at each other again. I won't let you decide whether I can be friends with someone or not, and let me get this straight _right now_ -I am not some weak damsel in distress who needs to be 'saved' or something just as fucking disgusting and weak. I can speak up for myself, and I can fight for myself, and I won't let either of you put words into my mouth when I haven't even considered them in the first place, because let me tell you this-just as I have started talking to you, I can just as easily _stop_. So either this conversation ends now and you two make good, or I'm never looking at either of you ever again."

Fuji tried his hardest to ignore the painful feeling that erupts within him at the thought of not being able to ever see to Ryo-chan again, and that coupled with her lengthy rant along with the hurt, betrayed eyes shadowed and weighted by the past leveled his way immediately makes him relent. He truly has no shame in admitting that Ryo-chan is the only one for whom he is willing to give a hundred and ten percent to. Not even Yuuta or Yumiko would be able to inspire the violent emotions just begging to be released at the mere thought of losing them, and for that reason, he acquiesces, bowing his head and murmuring an almost inaudible but sincere, "Sorry."

He can feel two incredulous gazes on the back of his head, but when he looks up at Ryo-chan, the light sheen across her eyes and the slight, tremulous grin that has begun to form on her lips is completely worth the fall of his pride and dignity.

And Fuji is quite sure that this display is the only reason that Akashi also replies with a frigid, calculating, "I'm sorry."


	6. Sixth: Saviors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter up ahead, hope you guys like it.
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Echizen finds herself waking up far too early in the morning on December 7th to the blaring of six consecutive alarms and the bloodthirsty threats from all the other girls on her floor.

When she finally manages to shake herself fully awake, she realizes that she's already thirty minutes behind schedule, and without preamble, she rushes through her usual morning routine, not even bothering to brush the tangles out of her hair before she rushes out of her room, just barely managing to silence all of the still blaring alarms as she runs at top speed towards the meeting point.

Despite the fact that it's a school day, Rakuzan is especially lenient towards ditching students during these times, considering that it's the Winter Cup. In fact, students are often encouraged to take days off in order to travel to Tokyo to watch the matches. That just goes to show how much basketball as a sport dictates the entire school, and normally Echizen would sulk slightly at the obvious favoritism (after all, Rakuzan refused to offer the same leniency when her father wanted her to go and participate in one of the Junior Tennis Tournaments in the States-it was a really big one; apparently, some scouts for some pretty big shot organizations were supposed to be attending, and even with Echizen's success as a wild card in the US Open, her father has been pushing her harder and harder to enter the pro circuits, even willing to forgo her education, which is the point at which she put her foot down), but since she's going with Seijūrō (being horrible with names, she only remembers his first, and he didn't seem to mind when she first called him by it, so she continues to do so) to watch his cousin's first preliminary match, she's more than grateful right now about that favoritism.

Echizen hadn't found out that Seijūrō had a cousin going to some backwater high school in Tokyo until just yesterday. After her blow up at Suke-senpai and him, she climbed up onto the roof of one of the science lecture halls. Since biology (especially botany) are the subjects that are mainly taught there, there's a rooftop garden that, while not as grand or popular as the official Gardening Club's or even the ones meant for labs and research projects, holds a certain rustic appeal to Echizen that she can appreciate, especially after overhearing Mura-senpai describe it to Suke-senpai and Kuran-senpai one day. Seijūrō easily found her, the two having spent many hours just lying near the edge, arms dangling off the ledges (another reason as to why not a lot of people visit: there are no railings). The two had sat in companionable silence before he broke it, which was the only reason why she opened her eyes and forced her sleepy mind to wake up, because Akashi Seijūrō _never_ speaks first.

"You remind me of my cousin."

Echizen raised an eyebrow, lolling her head from side to side. She didn't know how that was relevant, but merely replied with a lazy, "Hmm?"

Seijūrō was staring off into the distance, a faraway look on his face. It was a rare moment of vulnerability, and Echizen, despite having heard many more rumors about him (once she became acquainted with the "Demon Emperor," it was only natural for her to begin to pay attention to conversations during which his name popped up-that is also how she found out that he's more renowned than she first thought, considering that even Taka-senpai has heard of him, and since the genteel Seigaku alumni has only ever been truly focused to develop his skills as a sushi maker to take on his job as the inheritor of Kawamura Sushi, it's a wonder that he even knows anything remotely related to basketball), most of them being bad-well, the ones that weren't about his intelligence or his money or his physical appearance-couldn't help but settle back and listen attentively. No matter what he did in the past, she was (and still is) sure that there's a reason, and that reason may be a little more heartbreaking than most would assume, if the empty look in his eyes was anything to go by. No matter how standoffish or aloof her attitude may have been in the past, Echizen has always believed in judging fairly. Actions are balanced by intentions and words by thoughts. It's the reason why she still keeps in touch with Akaya and even Jin (when he's not in the mood to rip her head off, that is), despite having once stirred her anger by using tennis as a means to injure others. She even feels more comfortable around Mura-senpai, whose yips tennis hasn't evolved beyond becoming even more psychologically breaking, now that she understands his thought process behind willingly developing and executing something that has caused many a tennis player to quit (much like a certain group, she realized at that point), and even going so far as to reawaken and nurture Akaya's Devil Mode before Kuran-senpai was able to facilitate the creation of Angel Mode. With Echizen, it's quite simple, really-destruction without purpose is an unforgivable sin, but as long as there's a reason, there's a minimum possibility of forgiveness.

After all, she speaks from personal experience.

"You are both extremely fragile." Upon feeling Echizen's reproachful gaze on his person, Seijūrō laughed, but it was too empty. She would have preferred even the maniacal one that she has heard before, the one that cautions her (along with the tingling of her spine whenever in close proximity to him). "I must clarify, you are both _physically_ fragile. You can't argue againt that, Ryoma-your biology as a girl and your below average development leaves you in a, at least physically, fragile state. Tetsuya is a little more developed than you are, considering that she is a three years older than you, but still far below average for her age. Despite considerable setbacks that would make any normal person give up, you two have faced the music, and, against all odds, still stand to this day."

Echizen shrugged, drawing Seijūrō's eyes towards her. She wasn't sure what he had expected from her, but she knew that her next words were not what that was. "It's not as amazing as you make it seem. After all, when one gives up, the possibility of victory is zero percent. No if's, when's, or but's about it. Even if I have only a zero point one percent chance to accomplish what I aim for, I will take that zero point one percent chance because I refuse to give myself a zero percent chance before I even begin."

She had felt Seijūrō's eyes burning on her at that time, but she kept her eyes resolutely forward, refusing to make eye contact because she knew (she just _knew_ , through a gut instinct that she was very thankful she had at that moment) that he wouldn't want her to. For whatever reason, she could only guess, and she doubted that she would ever know, but she did. And when he breathed, "You are _exactly_ like Kuroko Tetsuya." she cracked a small smile.

She was still smiling when he stood up to leave minutes later.

She's not smiling right now, though, as she skids to a stop in front of an obviously impatient Seijūrō, whose murderous gaze intensifies for a moment on her before softening. She doubts that she'll ever get used to him, but damn if she lets that get in the way of her new friendship. She isn't one to take these things for granted, especially not after she unlocked Tenimuhou no Kiwami during her paralyzing match with Mura-senpai last year. Besides, despite the shivers and the tingling sensation at the bottom of her spine whenever she lays eyes on him, there's nothing within her that's screaming at her to run as far away as possible, and even though her logical mind is one of her greatest assets on court, she relies completely on her instincts when not playing tennis, which means that she's more than willing to stick around Seijūrō until he does something that truly does scare her off.

Maybe it's not the best policy to have in regards to her relationships with the people around her, but she finds that it works better than immediately assuming the worst and risk hurting him.

"You kept me waiting," Seijūrō says, deceptively soft, the murderous look in his eyes intensifying for a flash of a moment as his fingers twitch at his side, like he wants nothing more than to finally introduce his scissors to her face.

Luckily, Echizen has borne witness to Seijūrō's rather intense tendencies (honestly, his teammates are all wussies-logically, it would make absolutely no sense for him to bother killing them when they're his best assets to win the Winter Cup) numerous times, and she's already used to the whole _my voice may be angelic but my eyes are all but screaming my burning want to rip your flesh off of your bones_ tactic due to her teammates (especially two, although she's definitely _not_ pointing fingers), so she merely casually dismisses him, reaching into her pocket to pull out her phone, which is wrapped by a pair of white earbuds. Since the Winter Cup prelim matches all occur on consecutive days, she'll be staying in Tokyo with her father until she goes back to Rakuzan before heading back to watch the actual Winter Cup matches-that time, by herself, since Seijūrō has his own matches at that time. When she asked him why his team didn't have to play in the prelims, he said something about a special bracket and Inter-High and memorial, but when it became obvious that she a) had no clue what he was talking about, and b) didn't give a shit either way, the two of them dropped the subject and she accepted the fact that she had a partner in watching the games before the actual games (which makes as much sense in her mind as it does in your's).

The only thing she regrets about playing encouraged hooky is that she'll have to go home. It's not that she hates home (not entirely, at least), but with Mei-chan gone back to the States to live with Rinko, the house is...

Too big.

When she scrolls through her messages, she lets out a small sigh of relief (which doesn't go unnoticed by Seijūrō, who narrows his eyes slightly at the uncharacteristic action) upon seeing a light-hearted response to the message she sent her father the previous night about the whole Winter Cup situation. At least he's in a good mood right now.

"If we get on the train now, we'll be able to get to the match just before the tipoff."

Echizen nods, unwinding the buds from around her phone and popping them into her ears as she follows Seijūrō off campus and towards the station.

As the music slowly erases the world around her, she misses the contemplative look that Seijūrō sends her as they leave alone.

* * *

The two just barely manage to slip into the gym where Seijūrō's cousin's team is going to be playing their first preliminary match before the doors close. As Seijūrō leads the way (considering that he probably knows more than Echizen herself does), Echizen wonders just why she's here, besides the fact that she'd rather watch a basketball match than be stuck in first period English (and he _still_ doesn't understand why she has to take it-she's completely fluent in the language, why not substitute it for something that she hasn't learned yet, like Greek?). She's certain that none of her tennis teammates or any of the other reluctant acquaintances she's made outside of tennis are coming to watch the basketball matches either (unless they're secretly following her, but she's sure that even if she doesn't notice them, Seijūrō certainly would-then again, it's almost certain that he would withhold that information from her just to mess around with her mind).

Why _is_ she investing her time into something that she can't say without lying that she's genuinely interested in?

"That's my cousin's team." Seijūrō's words break her out of her thoughts, and she files the question away for another time. He doesn't point, but Echizen only needs to follow his line of sight to identify the group of eleven gathered on one half of the court. Despite the fact that there's more than enough room for them to sit on the bleachers, Seijūrō merely parks himself against the wall of the top bleachers, in a corner created by an extension in the section of the wall that they're standing next to. She doesn't question him, mostly because she's about ninety-seven percent sure that she knows why. Instead, she turns her attention to the group. Four of them are wearing white basketball jerseys with red and black embellishments, the school name written across their chests-"Seirin," she reads before frowning. Seijūrō was right-this really is some backwater high school. If his cousin is really as amazing as he seems to think, then what is she doing attending any school other than Rakuzan, the best of the best?

Maybe that's why Seijūrō is so worried.

The seven other figures on that half of the court are sitting on the benches-probably reserves. Six of them are wearing plain white T-shirts, while the last is a girl wearing a casual outfit that would be more than a little inconvenient to actually run around in. She's probably the coach, especially considering that there's nobody else other than those seven on the benches. It's a bit...unconventional to have a high school girl as a coach, but then again, it's not like Echizen can judge.

Echizen is about to open her mouth to ask about Seijūrō's cousin (she can't see any other girl, and she's already established that the girl at the bench is the coach) when a flash of blue catches her peripherals and she moves her eyes back towards the source. Her eyes widen slightly, but otherwise, her expression doesn't change whatsoever, but it's enough to notify Seijūrō, who murmurs a small, "Impressive. Not many people can see Tetsuya at first. You have very sharp eyes."

Echizen slowly nods, completely and utterly baffled by the seemingly "magical" appearance of a twelfth Seirin member on court, and a starter to boot (she connects the dots after seeing the red and black and white jersey). Powder blue hair just a few shades lighter than Mura-senpai's is pulled up into a high, tight ponytail, and despite the baggy jersey, she can see the undeniably _feminine_ figure underneath. Being the only other girl, there's no way that she and the boy standing next to Echizen aren't cousins. That merely bodes the question... "What the hell, you two look nothing alike! Are you sure you're cousins?"

Seijūrō nods, and Echizen has spent enough time hanging around and observing him to note the slightly weary air around him as he answers, "Yes, we are biological cousins. Her father is my mother's younger brother. Genetically, we inherited completely different genes, but DNA-wise, we are related."

Echizen raises an eyebrow, slightly surprised to hear that the girl's hair color is completely natural, but by now, she's learned to just roll with it (after all, her own hair is, for some reason, tinted emerald-it's not like she can judge someone else for weird hair color). Instead, she dedicates her time to keeping track of Kuroko. Every few seconds, her brow furrows as she loses sight of Kuroko, only to quickly latch onto the girl's figure mere seconds later. _It's weird...like she's a ghost of some sort. It's not as if I can't see her, but it's just that she has a lack of-oh._

"Presence," Echizen breathes, eyes slightly wide with wonder, and Seijūrō nods, approval clear in his voice as he replies.

"Yes. Tetsuya has an innate lack of presence, which she utilizes in her basketball."

"Wow," is all Echizen can say, still keeping her eyes out for the flash of blue. She can already feel a slight strain on her eyes from constantly looking and searching for someone who continuously manages to slip out of sight. "That would've been a weakness if she were playing tennis. Presence is the best way to pressure someone during a match."

"She doesn't play tennis," Seijūrō states bluntly. "She plays basketball."

Echizen shoots a slightly surprised look at him. "I didn't think that you'd ever say that."

"However, that is the truth."

"But you don't do things just for the sake of doing them. You always have a reason. It sounds to me like...you don't have a reason."

Seijūrō shakes his head, eyes softening for the slightest moment as they land on Kuroko. "It's not I who doesn't have a reason. _She_ doesn't have a reason."

A small smile ghosts across Echizen's face as she glances away from Seijūrō and back to the girl who is following the rest of her team onto the court. "I think we'll get along great."

The subject is dropped, and Echizen settles back to watch the match. Since it's a preliminary match between two relatively unknown schools, there aren't many spectators. Most of the people are probably relatives or friends of the players, but there definitely aren't any scouts from other schools.

That is, until she notices them. One immediately reminds her of two certain, eternally smiling people, and she almost groans (why does she always have to run into people like these?). He even has the closed eyes down to pat, covered by a pair of glasses. She has no idea what the point of wearing those things is-if his eyes aren't open, then how is he even going to be using them in the first place? The second, though, reminds her of that little kid who practically stalks Jin while hero worshipping the constantly pissy teen (what's his name-Dental, Dane, Dam?). He's just as timid and just as shy, and even the way he's running after the closed-eyed teen like a dog after the hand that feeds is an exact replica. The only difference is that this guy apologizes every other second.

There's nothing particularly alarming about the two (besides the dangerous vibes the glasses guy exudes and the eternal stream of apologies that threatens to make Echizen go deaf), but then, as they move down the aisle to sit on the bleachers just a few feet away from her, she hears the apologetic stalker ask, "I thought we were going to be late for sure! I'm sorry!"

"See, there's nothing to worry about."

"Who do you think will win? Seirin or Josei?"

"Who knows? Well, they're equally strong teams, but Josei is a terrible match-up for Seirin. Seirin has a weak front court. In contrast, Josei's aggressive front court is their big strength. Their first year center is especially powerful. It might be a tough game for Seirin. However..."

At that, Echizen perks up leaning the slightest bit forward to see a little better. Seijūrō doesn't say anything, so she doesn't stop-although, to be fair, even if he does, she still wouldn't stop anyways.

"I'm glad that we came to see this game."

"Huh?" The no-confidence far too humiliated boy glances at his companion, obviously confused at the cryptic words.

"Watch Seirin's number seven carefully. His moves are impossible to predict."

Echizen glances towards Seirin, searching for the large number seven among them. When she catches sight of it, her eyes zero in on the person wearing it-a creepily smiling brunette with the most enormous hands that Echizen has ever seen. _What's so special about this guy in particular?_

_"Let the Winter Cup preliminary game between Seirin High School and Josei High school begin."_

The two lapse into silence when the sudden sound of someone crying fills the air. Echizen turns her attention from the two scouts to the court, where one of the starters from the opposite team is bawling, wiping at the tears streaking down his cheeks with the backs of his hands. It goes on for long enough that she starts to think that something serious is going on until one of his teammates walks up to him and asks what's wrong. Despite standing on the top bleachers, due to both the lack of a crowd and her above normal senses, she can pick up and comprehend the whispered conversation between them (not that she would need to in order to understand what they're talking about, as seen a few seconds later).

"You're so mean, Captain," the crying boy whispers, arms hanging limply in front of him. "Why would you do that?"

"What?" The guy who asked him what was wrong looks understandably confounded at the words coming out of his teammate's mouth.

"A girl." At that point, Echizen can already connect the dots, and she isn't sure whether she should laugh or punch him in the face. "You said the coach of the other team was a girl. I was looking for something _bigger_ , something to get me going..." She can tell that even Seijūrō is torn between how to react to this sudden development. "BUT SHE'S NOT SEXY AT ALL! GIVE ME BACK WHAT YOU STOLE FROM ME!"

The ones in the crowd who still hadn't figured it out now stare at the shameless basketball player who stands on the court, whining pitifully over how he's depressed about the fact that the Seirin coach isn't up to his standard of beauty. Echizen doesn't even need her sharp eyesight to see the growing red tick marks on the brunette's head or the burning, demonic aura that darkens with every word that pours out of the boy's mouth.

Echizen can only see the back of the coach's head, but as the girl's teammates all turn to look at her, every one of them except for Kuroko sporting a slightly angry, mostly terrified look on their faces, she can practically see the other girl's hand motions: a wide, closed-eyed smile coupled with a thumbs up turned sideways in a slashing motion before turned upside down. Echizen can practically hear the unspoken message to Seirin.

_Go. Slaughter. Them._

And not one person could possibly argue that it's a cruel gesture.

* * *

A whistle blows, and the ball is thrown into the air.

Echizen is starting to realize that there are many differences between tennis and basketball, more than she could've possibly ever imagined. After all, the two sport involve a ball, a court, a net, and a score-how different could they be?

But with every day that she spends with Seijūrō, she's starting to realize that things aren't as simple, as black and white as they seem. And as she finds her eyes transfixed on the slowly spinning basketball in the air, she can't convince herself that she detests the change.

Number nine and Seirin's number seven both jump for the tipoff. Number nine's hand just barely brushes against the ball before Seirin's number seven slams it full force towards Seirin's number four (if Echizen remembers correctly, number four means "Captain"), who hits it over to number ten. Number ten begins dribbling it down the court, and even from here, Echizen can sense the intensity and focus that's rolling off of him in waves. He almost reaches the edge of the half ellipse (it's more of a parabola-she decides right then and there that she should spend more time sleeping in math class) when suddenly Josei's numbers five and seven come in front of him, blocking his path. Number ten reels back for a moment, faltering before passing the ball behind him to Seirin's number five, who tosses it to the running Seirin captain. The captain comes near the net, but when Josei's captain draws up close, he bounce tosses it across the court, back into number ten's hands, who is immediately cornered by Josei's numbers five and seven again. As he pivots on his foot, Echizen can see the pinched, frustrated look on his face as he tries to think of a way out, but she can already tell that he's more of an instinct player than a logical one-that much is obvious when Seirin's number five shouts, "Don't hold the ball for too long, Kagami!"

The name slips Echizen's mind as she narrows in on number ten's expression, which has become even more frustrated and slightly desperate as he shouts back in a rough voice full of frustration, "I kno-"

Only to be interrupted mid sentence when number seven slaps the ball out of his hands, landing out out of bounds. The whistle blows shrilly as the referee calls, "White ball!"

Despite not understanding half of what just happened, Echizen can't help but feel slightly disoriented as the players on court stop chasing after the ball and the timer on the scoreboard freezes. Number ten storms past Kuroko, who once again appears out of nowhere. Echizen can see the blue-haired teen's blank look, even in the face of all this tension. "Kagami-kun, please calm down." Her voice is soft and polite and completely monotone.

"Shut up!" number ten roars in response, once again proving Echizen right when he gets mad over absolutely nothing. "I'm damn calm!"

Seirin's captain steps forward, a disgruntled look on his face. "You don't look calm at all. Sheesh." He grits his teeth, a frown pulling at his lips.

Just when it looks like they're going to succumb to the angry silence (which isn't good, even Echizen knows that in a team game, especially one like basketball, it isn't good to freeze up your communication), an enormous hand slams onto number ten's head, and Seirin's number seven practically sings, "Kagami, you look terrifying! Let's take it a bit easier." He raises his hand only to slam it back down on number ten's head.

Number ten immediately retaliates, pulling away and slapping the other's hand away. "That hurts! You hit too hard!" Seirin's number seven only laughs in response as number ten continues his angry retort. "What are you going to do if you bash my head in?"

The brunette laughs again before suddenly cutting off, eyes wide open and a surprised look on his face. "Huh?" His eyes narrow, and a reprimanding look appears on his face, so strange and out of place on features that had just been smiling openly and warmly. "What are you talking about, Kagami? It takes a lot to bash in a head."

The completely deadpanned delivery makes Echizen snort, although only Seijūrō seems to have heard. He, in turn, merely glances at her before looking back at the game, most likely watching out for his cousin.

"I know that!" number ten shouts as he storms away.

"Anyway, what now? They're a rougher team than expected."

Seirin's captain glances at number five, the frown still on his face. "Yeah. _You_ -" He shoots a pointed glance at an amused looking number seven (who, despite having an amazing sense of humor, still doesn't strike Echizen as someone special enough to be acknowledged by another school's scout). "-shouldn't be telling people to take it easy. Shape up."

Number seven laughs, glancing back at his captain. "It's been so long, my instincts-"

"Hey!" Seirin's captain shouts, an extremely pissed off look on his face.

After a moment of silence, number seven continues onwards with a much more casual and much less joking, "Well, I should be fine soon. Give me the ball. This game is just getting started. Let's have some fun."

And seeing the smug little smirk on his face as he says the words that Echizen has been wanting to hear since the last year somehow manages to convince her that the blind as a bat scout is completely right about Seirin's number seven.

"Right?" His hand shoots out again and slams onto number ten's head before he walks away.

Completely right.

"What's wrong?" Kuroko's voice is still utterly monotonous in complete contrast with her words, but either number ten is used to it or he's hearing something that Echizen doesn't because instead of blowing up like she thought he would, he merely glances down at his hand, flexing his fingers once, then twice.

"Nothing," he mutters absently, looking back up. "I just noticed that he's go huge hands."

_Oh._

So maybe Seirin's number seven really does require special attention from his opponents. Echizen wonders if they know-well, if even someone who hasn't even given a thought towards basketball until about two weeks ago understands, then it would be pathetically sad if the players on court don't.

The clock starts again, and Seirin has the ball. Number five passes it to number seven who lightly dribbles it, guarded by number nine. Echizen's eyes narrow as she watches Seirin's number seven's muscles tense slightly before moving back towards the center of the court. Number nine closely follows, leaving number seven's right side open, creating the perfect opportunity for number seven to turn in place, smoothly passing the ball back to Seirin'r running captain, who catches the ball and makes a basket right next to the backboard.

5-9 in Josei's favor.

"It looks like Josei doesn't have that much of an advantage."

Echizen blinks, startled a little by the sudden reminder of the two scouts' presences. The timid little one had spoken, slight confusion tinging his voice, and Echizen wonders for a moment if he actually _is_ a basketball player, because there's no way that _she_ could know if _he_ doesn't.

Back down on the court, Seirin's number five passes the ball to number seven who, once again, is guarded closely by number nine. Number seven jumps up from his position at the edge of the parabola, and number nine jumps up to block him.

"A hook shot?"

Number seven's hand reaches up, muscles flexing, and Echizen watches in awe as he suddenly changes the course of the ball, bringing his arm in between number nine's outstretched ones to toss the ball to Seirin's captain over number nine's shoulder. The few times that she's handled a basketball in the past couple of weeks, she remembers just how clumsy she had been with it (and no, it's not _entirely_ due to the fact that she's a tennis freak), unable to maneuver it around without wasting precious time and forcing tremendous strain on her arm if she were to do it as quickly as Seirin's number seven.

"What? A pass?" Number nine isn't the only one who's shocked at the sudden turn of events, even as Seirin's captain lines up to take a shot that sinks smoothly into the basket.

The game continues on, with Josei's captain attempting to throw a pass to number twelve, only to have the pass by stolen by Seirin's captain who passes it to Seirin's number seven. A sense of déjà vu hits Echizen as number seven jumps up with the ball in his hand, quickly followed by number nine. The only difference is that this time, number nine seems much more conflicted and much less single-mindedly determined than before, his attention split between number seven and the approaching number five. She can practically hear his thoughts: _A hook shot? No, a pass?_ In his moment of confusion, he pulls back just slightly as he attempts to block what he assume to be a pass, but number seven immediately takes advantage, making a basket with a single, smooth sweeping motion.

"Isn't he just...exceptionally slow?"

"Kiyoshi is an unusual center with the passing sense of a point guard." Echizen frowns slightly at the name-she's sure that she's heard it somewhere, probably from Take-senpai and Eiji-senpai. "The defense has to predict his play. Basically, a game of rock-paper-scissors."

There's no way that basketball could possibly be that simple. She watches silently as number nine attempts to make a dunk, the way he pushes his body as hard as he physically can telling her what he wants-to completely overpower Kiyoshi through brute force.

"How naïve." The closed-eyed scout murmurs, watching as Kiyoshi matches number nine, even outmatches him with a brutal swipe, stealing the ball right out from under the other's nose. "With his huge hands grasping the ball, Kiyshi can still change his choice when an average player would have had to release the ball already." With every explanation that comes from the boy in front of her, Echizen slowly finds herself respecting the person who has somehow managed to make use of what nature had given him to soar even higher-something that not many people manage to do in their lifetimes. "He can change his strategy after observing his opponent. He has the 'Right of Postponement.'" Echizen snorts internally. It seems like both basketball and tennis players alike find the ridiculous need to assign monikers to certain actions, some of them being outright ridiculous. "It's not necessarily that he's impossible to predict. There's just simply _no point_ in predicting his moves. However, Kiyoshi's style isn't based entirely upon technique. Theoretical ideas require a certain minimum to become practical reality, and Kiyoshi is an incredibly _strong_ center."

Seirin's number five races to catch the runaway ball, and Echizen follows his line of sight only to be just as taken aback as the person guarding him when he tosses it to the side, the opposite direction of where he'd been looking. A flash of blue flickers, and the ball suddenly changes course despite the fact that nobody is within the vicinity. It bounces directly to a running number ten, and Echizen almost face-palms when she sees the burning anger and pent-up frustration reflected in his eyes. His foot slams onto the ground as he pushes off, quickly reaching the height that Echizen reaches whenever performing her Cyclone Smash.

"Idiot," she mutters, unable to keep quiet when number ten's far too enthusiastic leap causes his forehead to slam into the rim of the basket.

Both teammates and opponents alike are completely flabbergasted, though for different reasons-the latter appears to be in shock over how high number ten jumped while the former appears to be in shock over the consequences of how high number ten jumped. "HE JUMPED TOO HIGH!"

"You can jump higher than him." Seijūrō speaks for the first time since the start of the game, and Echizen really isn't surprised that he knows, so she merely nods in response. "You should play basketball."

She refuses to answer the unspoken question.

The buzzer sounds, and the scoreboard freezes. 29-18 in Seirin's favor. The spectators, all tens of them, burst into noise, shouting at the tops of their lungs.

"Seirin's amazing!"

"They're completely different from this summer!"

 _This summer?_ Seijūrō doesn't bother to explain, so Echizen doesn't bother to ask, though she does wonder just how different they were during summer. She finds her eyes subconsciously tracing nothing but air, but a moment later, a head of blue appears and she sees Kuroko, whose blank face has only grown even blanker. Kiyoshi sidles up next to her, a hearty smile on his face. "Do you need to sub out?"

Only then does Echizen notice just how sweaty Kuroko is-too sweaty for any normal athlete after having played only twenty minutes, but that's when she wonders-wait a minute, has Kuroko been on court the _entire time_? Echizen vaguely remembers catching flashes of blue every few minutes, but just how many? When? _Was she even on the court in the first place?_

It's a scary feeling, not being able to trust your eyes.

"No, I'm fine." Kuroko's voice is still firm and gentle, no sign of harsh breathing or heavy exhaustion, but by now Echizen knows better than to assume that what she sees is what's truly there. She glances to the side, where a knocked out number ten is still laying on the court after the rather rude introduction between his face and the basket, before moving towards him. Grabbing his ankle in her slim hand, she begins to drag him across the court, and Echizen decides that she really, _really_ likes this girl.

* * *

The match continues on, nothing incredibly noteworthy happening after the first twenty minutes (Echizen realizes belatedly that the number in between the two scores denotes what "round" it is-she wonders what each "round" is formally called) besides a repetition of what happened earlier. It's obvious by now the overwhelming strength Seirin posses, and many are clamoring on and on about Kiyoshi or Seirin's number seven or even Seirin's captain, but Echizen is more focused on Kuroko, who, while not doing much of anything that could be considered especially dangerous, confuses her more and more throughout the rest of the game. It seems completely illogical, inconvenient, and, not to mention, impossible for someone to disappear and reappear while playing on court, and yet the proof is right before her eyes, in the form of a beautiful, cohesive network of trust that not even Jin would have anything bad to say about.

"Rebound!" Kiyoshi easily swipes the ball away from number nine before tossing it into the basket. And then there's this person, who reminds her of Suke-senpai minus the sadistic tendencies-or at least, Echizen thinks so, but with people like them, it's impossible to to judge before getting to know them very, very well. He's just as fascinating to her as Kuroko is, and she's suddenly very, very grateful that Seijūrō offered to let her watch his cousin's Winter Cup prelim matches (even though she still doesn't understand _why_ ).

"He made the shot!"

"This doesn't look like a game between Tokyo's third-placed and sixth-placed teams!"

"Seirin's ridiculously strong!"

53-91 in Seirin's favor.

"They pulled away quickly," the know-it-all scout finally speaks up after having spent a long time in silence.

"They're strong."

"The addition of Kiyoshi is huge for Seirin. They didn't just increase their output on the offense. Their team is stable now. In particular..." His voice trails off for just a moment as Seirin's number five reaches up to block number ten who shoots the ball. It soars towards the basket, bouncing off the rim and hurtling towards the ground, where three people reach for it at the same time. Only one person succeeds.

"He got it again!"

"Nice rebound!"

"...their rebounds," the scout finishes, a sardonic tone in his voice. "Seirin's front court isn't their weakness anymore. It's their _strength_." And this only makes Echizen wonder all the more just how different Seirin is compared to before. _After the addition of Kiyoshi? When did just one player cause such a polarizing shift in power?_ "With a strong center, you can get rebounds. If you know you can get the rebounds, you can shoot at will." Maybe he's not actually a scout. Maybe he's a coach in disguise (when surrounded by teenager's who describe techniques through the vocabulary of a gargling toddler or that of a physics university professor, Echizen has come to highly doubt that anyone other than a proper coach can even begin to explain things in such a short, wonderfully sweet manner). "And thus you score more."

"That captain's amazing!"

"How many is that?

"He can't miss!"

"You're putting a lot in today," Kiyoshi says down on the court, and Echizen is starting to have to strain her ears in order to listen because despite the small numbers in the crowd, they wholly (and a little more) make up for their lack of people in sheer amount of noise.

Seirin's captain stiffens, and Echizen is reminded of Suke-senpai and Nichi-senpai when he saps back, "I always do, idiot."

A very pissed off number ten (Echizen has never seen such a vibrant shade of red-not even Bunta's hair is any match for that) growls from behind them, "Getting excited on your own-that's enough, you shitheads!" She wonders why he's still alive. "Let me take some shots!"

"Oi, Kagami," Seirin's number five says, followed by the captain who looks more than a little angry at number ten's blatant disrespect.

"It's no use. The idiot can't hear you."

"Maa, it's good to be hot-blooded," Kiyoshi exclaims, smiling brightly, even as the brunette coach replies with a scathing remark.

"He's _too_ hot."

Another flash of blue draws Echizen's attention back to Kuroko (she was on the court?), who slips her wristband off. Echizen watches, slightly dumbfounded, somewhat amazed, and wholeheartedly amused as the other girl stretches it like a rubber band and let's it hit number ten across the face.

There's a moment in which everyone is shocked into silence before number ten whirls around, a murderous look on his face. "You-bastard-!"

"That's enough," Kuroko cuts in, even blanker than before as she stares at number ten.

"What'd you say, Tetsuya?" Echizen is slightly surprised at the familiar way of address, and she wonders what their relationship is, though the next few seconds (along with Seijūrō's slightly intimidating silence) proves her first thought wrong.

"It's easier for them to take shots since you're drawing all the defenders to yourself. You shouldn't pout about that. You'll never get a decent girlfriend if you continue to try to turn your face into the same color as your hair." Number ten splutters for a moment at the perfectly delivered deadpanned insult but is unable to get another word in edgewise when Kuroko continues onwards without missing a beat. "Also, can you see them?"

Echizen is slightly surprised when Kuroko turns her head towards the stands, directly towards Seijūrō and her. Kuroko's blank eyes, however, are directed at the two scouts sitting in front of her, and Echizen isn't sure whether she should be relieved or slightly disappointed.

"They're from Touou?" If Kuroko had wanted to display some form of inconspicuousness, that hope would be immediately dashed as number ten whirls around to stare intensely up at the bleachers, and from the soft, highly amused chuckle from the scout who might be a coach, there's never been anyone more obvious. The entire situation only prompts one question in her mind. _What do they mean to each other?_

"Aomine-kun will hear about this game." Echizen is only growing more and more confused, and when she glances at Seijūrō, the slight smirk on his face even though his eyes are still pinned to his cousin only serves to annoy her as well as make her even more confused. "Once you've calmed down, make a declaration of war."

"That's not something you do with a cool head." _That's the most intelligent thing you've said so far._ "Leave it to me, though. I'll give it to them good."

"They make a good duo," Kiyoshi remarks, smile still on his face.

"I got one! They're as cute as a couple!" Seirin's number five says thoughtfully, and Echizen almost laughs when she suddenly hears a sharp _snip_ from the person standing beside her. _Even he's got a cute side to him._

"I'm grateful for you, Kuroko," Seirin's captain starts, a somewhat sheepish look on his face as he watches a burning number ten storm away from the group, muttering a series of words that have more to do with war than with basketball under his breath. "But...did you really need to mention Touou?"

"Maybe not," Kuroko murmurs in response.

"Damn it!" number ten shouts.

The game continues, and Echizen catches a glimpse of just what makes Kuroko Seijūrō's cousin. The basketball zooms from one half of the court to the other, reminiscent of Hiroshi's laser beam except for two differences: this is a _basketball_ , and Kuroko used her _hand_. Echizen winces as the ball hits number ten's raised hands solidly, a loud smacking sound resonating, but he doesn't seem at all bothered by the impact despite the fact that _it had to have felt like slamming face first into a brick wall_. Josei's numbers five and seven rush up to corner him, weary looks on their faces even as they force their arms up and tighten their footwork.

"They're _still_ double-teaming him!"

"Josei won't let up!"

Echizen sighs softly, her sudden interest and quickly growing fascination slowly fades away as she takes in the expressions of the players on court. Just when she had thought that she had found something worthwhile...

_Only tennis has any true value in this world._

He was right. Like always.

"No matter how many they send, it's not enough!" _Boring._

"He broke through!" _Weak._

"Defenders without the will to win can't stop me!" _Worthless._

"You're not going anywhere!" _Pitiful._ "You haven't won yet!" _Pathetic._

"I'm relieved someone like you is around. Sorry, though. The winner..."

"Put it in, Kagami!"

Echizen watches through hooded eyes as number ten leaps up, higher than ever before (maybe even higher than her, though she doubts that), but now, all she feels is a bitter sort of apathy as he slams the ball into the hoop so hard that the entire pole shakes.

The buzzer sounds, and she closes her eyes as the entire gymnasium erupts into cheers and hollers, even as he falls back onto the ground, a victorious grin on his face despite the enormous red mark on his forehead.

_What a waste of time._

* * *

There is no evidence.

_(Aomine slowly sits up, staring up at the sunset.)_

However, in that moment, they all sensed it.

_(Kise turns around, cocking his head to the side as if he can hear something that the others cannot.)_

They are the prodigies of basketball, the Generations of Miracles

_(Midorima sits stock still, eyes piercing in quality as his teammates slowly fade into the background.)_

No player is their equal.

_(Murasakibara isn't eating, lips curved into an unforgiving frown.)_

Even if one were to appear, it would be in the distant future.

_(Akashi's eyes are diverted for a split second from the teal blue of his cousin's hair the the deep red of her partner's, only a few shades darker than his own.)_

Or so it seemed.

_(Kuroko is unable to look away from the breathtaking sight above her, and for once, she lets the small bud inside of her chest blossom.)_

They heard the sound of a door. They heard the sound of the door to the room exclusive to such prodigies being forced open.

* * *

_"Game over!"_

"Ow."

A pale hand enters his line of vision, and Kagami looks up only to see Kuroko standing over him. His breath is taken away for a moment at the sight of her uncharacteristically soft eyes as she holds out a hand. As he reaches up to grasp it, she says, "You're falling over a lot today, Kagami-kun."

"Shut up." He's unable to stop the wild grin that spreads across his face.

"So unfair..."

Kagami and Kuroko, their hands still entwined, both turn to face the source of the whimper. Josei's number nine, Kuroko remembers his name to be "Narumi," stands off to the side, eyes wide, lips trembling. His teammates stand behind him, defeated looks on their faces as it finally hits them that they won't be playing basketball anymore.

_The season is over._

"It's so fucking unfair!" Narumi shouts, creating a lull in the deafening gymnasium. His eyes are burning holes into the first year duo. "Why? Seirin's only two years old! We have practiced way more than you! We have worked _harder_ than you!" Kagami winces as he feels Kuroko's hand tighten just slightly around his own. "We should've _destroyed_ you guys! Our third years will no longer be able to play anymore! No matter how you look at it, we deserved to win! We're _stronger_!" Tears begin forming at the corners of his eyes, and none of his teammates do anything more other than stare at him.

His rant reminds Kagami of that bald guy from Seiho, what was his name, Tsugawa? Yeah. And from the way Kuroko lets go of his hand and steps forward, blank eyes glowing a bit more than usual, he's sure that she feels that way too.

"Narumi."

The boy shrieks, jumping backwards. His eyes sweep the area for a moment, skipping over Kuroko before swinging back towards her. His jaw drops, and he gapes at her. She merely stares back in response, waiting.

She doesn't have to do so for long. "WHEN THE HELL DID YOU GET HERE?"

"I was playing for the whole forty minutes," Kuroko replies politely, and not for the first time, Kagami wonders if, behind that mask of her's, she's laughing her ass off.

"You-you were-I-what the fuck?" His voice reaches all new heights as his bugged eyes stay glued on Kuroko. Kagami decides that, even though he doesn't quite like the fact that the boy hadn't noticed his shadow, he's glad that those eyes stay on Kuroko's face. God knows how many players had been unable to do the same.

"Narumi, it was a good game."

That shuts the boy up. His jaw still hangs open, though, but his eyes have started to glisten. "But..."

"Your perseverance and your unwavering determination reminded me of someone. His captain told him, 'The strong don't win.'"

A choked sound leaves the boy as he wipes furiously at his eyes, shoulders shaking.

"'The winners are the strong ones.' Right now, right here, we are stronger." Kuroko's eyes are colder than a tundra, bearing down on the crying boy, but her words are even colder, so cold that they burn. "And you are weaker. That's all there is to it."

She turns around and begins to walk away. As Kagami scrambles onto his feet, a shout causes him to stop and glance back.

The boy is still standing, and tears are still streaming from his eyes, but a determined glint that Kagami has seen far too many times on none other than the girl who put that look there shines in his watery gaze. "Next year. I will win."

Kuroko hasn't stopped walking, and Kagami is sure that the only person who can even begin to sense the smile in her voice as she replies with a monotone, "I look forward to it."

* * *

Echizen Ryoma is pissed off, and she doesn't try to hide it as she storms along the sidewalk, a murderous look on her face. Seijūrō, the real jackass he is, disappeared immediately after the match. Only after she finally realized that he was gone did her phone light up with a text message that practically _oozes_ with his special brand of arrogance.

_To: Ryoma_

_From: Dick Who Will Be Stabbed In The Neck_ (Modified five minutes ago)

_Stay put._

And because Echizen is Echizen, she immediately deleted the message and stormed out, just barely catching the last of the conversation between the two scouts.

(It went a little something like this:

"They're amazing. At this rate, Seirin might even make it to the Winter Cup."

"What are you talking about? They're still coming. The real monsters."

_"With a score of 108 to 61, Seirin High School wins!"_

"A storm is brewing.")

She comes to a stop at an intersection, letting out a sigh as she burrows further into her jacket. Seijūrō had "forgotten" to remind Echizen to bring a thick coat, so all she has on his a thin windbreaker to fend against the cold weather. Even stuck somewhere within the enormous crowd of people that walk Tokyo's streets day and night, she can still feel the wind pushing against her, and she's just really in a very bad mood.

The scowl on her face only grows darker as she remembers the disappointing end of the basketball match she had just watched. _I should've just skipped school to play some street tennis._

The crowd surges forward as one when the lights turn, and Echizen finds herself walking along the edge of the crosswalk. As she checks her surroundings, the wariness from the incident having never truly left her, a flash of blue catches her attention, and on instinct, she turns her head towards it.

She frowns when she sees that girl, Kuroko, on the edge of the sidewalk all by herself. _Where are her teammates? Where's her jackass of a cousin?_ It doesn't take long for Echizen to note the slightly panicked look on the other girl's face as she steps onto the sidewalk, among the last ones to do so. Kuroko's blank blue eyes are searching wildly for something, but that's when Echizen notices that her right eye isn't blank because of her _expression_ , it's blank because it's clouded and hazy and-

_Fuck me._

The lights turn, and Kuroko steps off the sidewalk, eyes locked on the ground as she unsteadily makes her way out onto the streets. Either she's deaf (which is immediately ruled it) or she's too absorbed in looking for whatever it is she lost-whatever the reason, she doesn't even look up as the cars at the intersection begin to move forward.

Considering that Kuroko had been standing on the side of the road where the cars line up to wait out the lights, she would've been fine, but then she steps out of that lane and into the other one.

"Shit!" Echizen screams, ignoring the strange and disapproving looks thrown her way as she surges forward, using every ounce of brutal tennis training to propel her off the safety of the sidewalk and into the oncoming traffic. No one can see Kuroko-the girl's presence is way too low-so low, in fact, a car would probably be able to run Kuroko over and would only notice because of the slight, unnatural jolt the car would make when moving over her body.

People, however, _do_ notice when Echizen runs across the lane as blaring honks echo in her ears, straight into the path of an incoming car. Without even looking, Echizen knows that the car is going too fast to stop now (the frantic honking is a no-brainer). Screams and shouts soon mix with the horns, but Echizen ignores all of that as she reaches Kuroko and tackles her out of the way.

The car zooms past (the driver has rolled down the window and an extremely pissed off, _"Fuck you, what the hell were you thinking, you crazy bitch?"_ is heard), and Echizen decides that both she and the now dazed Kuroko who is blinking owlishly up at her with one normally blank eye and one unnaturally blank eye are completely and utterly crazy.

"Who are you?"

_Yep. Totally batshit crazy._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko Tetsuya: 11  
> Kagami Taiga: 10  
> Kiyoshi Teppei: 7  
> Hyuuga Junpei: 4  
> Izuki Shun: 5
> 
> Daisuke Narumi (perverted Center): 9  
> Kawase Youhei (Shooting Guard): 4  
> Tsubuku Masahiro (Power Forward): 7  
> Sakuma Hiroshi (Small Forward): 5  
> Toyama Kazuki (Point Guard): 12


	7. Seventh: Aces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another long chapter ahead! Kuroko and Echizen have finally met! So excited about that.
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Kuroko is decidedly shaken, and even though she knows that her face is as blank as ever, for some reason, she feels rather self-conscious under the piercing glare of the golden-eyed beauty sitting across the table from her in the little coffee shop the two are currently sitting in. She's never been one to care about what people think of her, but right now, as of this moment, as she sips the warm classic green tea flavored by a shot of vanilla (surprisingly tasty, but Kuroko has always deemed anything with vanilla in it to be worthy of a five-star rating), Kuroko is more than ready to hide under her bedcovers and never come out again, all because of this one girl's relentless stare.

It certainly doesn't help that half of her vision is blurry right now-not to the point where she can't see (no, she's still perfectly functional-physically, if not mentally), but to the point where she feels incredibly uncomfortable about that side of her. _Those contacts were expensive. How much will it take to replace the one I lost?_

After the almost-accident, as Kuroko continuously refers to it, all traffic had come to a halt as concerned (or curious) pedestrians crowded the streets in order to see whether the crazy girl who had rushed into the path of a speeding car was okay. Most still had no idea that Kuroko was there, if not all. Those who saw her were able to put the pieces together, and for that Kuroko feels grateful because the golden-eyed beauty received recognition for doing something so brave yet fool-hardly. The two were in agreement, and quickly slipped away from the crowd as soon as possible, so as not to make a bigger deal out of the entire mess than need be. Kuroko, of course, had an easy time. Since almost everyone didn't even know that she was there, she was able to slip through the crowd quite easily. The other girl, however, had a much harder time. Notwithstanding her attention grabbing stunt, she is quite the exotic beauty (Kuroko has no trouble admitting that, yes, the girl currently burning holes into her skull is more than attractive-she's utterly _drool-worthy_ ) and, now that they're not in the middle of a crisis, Kuroko notes that she also has a ridiculous presence, one that rivals even that of Kagami-kun, Kise-kun, Murasakibara-kun, Aomine-kun, Midorima-kun, and even Seijūrō, which is no light feat. Five of them are the hailed Generation of Miracles whose presences on court demand full attention while the sixth is considered a decent threat by three out of the five.

All in all, the golden-eyed girl sipping a grape Ponta is no joke (not to mention the fact that she actually _saw_ Kuroko-for which she is actually grateful for, considering the circumstances). And it took thirty minutes before she managed to escape the crowd, coupled with another thirty minutes of trying to find a nice, secluded place in which the inhabitants had no idea of the almost-accident, which means that it took one whole hour for the two to finally make their way to this little hidden café.

Kuroko sets down her tea, calmly observing the girl sitting across from her. Even now, when doing nothing more than drinking her sugar-infested drink, all eyes are drawn to her. At one point or another, every single person in this room has looked at her at least twice, some of them for longer periods of times than others. It's baffling, really, to feel pressure even when the girl shows no sign of being anything other than another typical teenage girl. Maybe it's her appearance, Kuroko muses, taking in the girl's chin-length emerald-tinted black hair cut in rather flattering layers, framing a soft face with angular cheekbones and one of the sharpest jawlines that Kuroko has ever seen (which is saying something, because she's seen _many_ a sharp jaw in her life, the basketball players she sees on a daily basis being among them). Her golden eyes glitter with impatience and slight annoyance-both of which being most likely directed at Kuroko-and their tips are curled up in such a way as to resemble a cat, which is slightly disappointing (it's not that they don't look pretty on her-because they do, they _really_ do-it's just that Kuroko is more of a dog person), so despite the Murasakibara-kun look in her eyes, Kruoko can't shake the feeling that she's being watched, being analyzed, and it's really not the most _pleasant_ of feelings. Her figure, despite half of it being hidden by the table, is lean and fit, not incredibly thin the way Kuroko naturally is, but nicely muscled and firm in the way that makes Kuroko slightly jealous, because it won't matter how hard she tries or how much time Kuroko puts into exercise; she'll never have the same, casually muscled figure that she admires on other people. Her clothes are normal: a pair of white jeans and a pretty light blue blouse (that, coincidentally, is in the exact same shade as Kuroko's hair and eyes) paired with a black windbreaker, a sort of casual that clashes with Kuroko's basketball uniform, which, despite being saturated in her sweat from the match not so long ago, she still hasn't changed out of.

Okay, so, maybe it's not her appearance, Kuroko grumbles silently to herself, picking her cup back up to take another sip of the now lukewarm liquid. She briefly wonders just how long she has been sitting here with the pretty girl who Kuroko is admittedly jealous of (just a little bit-besides, even if she doesn't show her emotions, she still _has_ them, and that does include the more unsavory ones), the only consolation being that Kuroko, who is almost always the shortest one, is actually taller than her, and, although she's still debating the morality of making this particular observation, she is more developed as a woman. She then moves on to wonder whether Seijūrō knows what happened (with him, it's impossible to predict anything, which only makes her angry-when one's style in basketball depends entirely on observation of patterns and habits and quirks, someone who doesn't _have_ any will be the most frustrating person on the planet), and if he doesn't, how long it will take for him to find out.

Kuroko is sure that the two would've likely spent the entire time until Seijūrō comes to pick Kuroko up in silence if not for the meddlesome group of horny teenagers who decide that right now is the perfect moment to approach her. Kuroko watches with a detached sort of morbid curiosity as the group saunters over towards her table, lecherous grins on their faces. There are three in total. The one to the right is the one in charge, if the way the other two step back to let him step forward once they reach the table is anything to go by. This is a common occurrence, or these three aren't dangerous, since none of the other customers give their table a second look, even as they tower over the golden-eyed beauty, who either hasn't noticed them or doesn't care. They obviously haven't noticed Kuroko, considering the way their eyes slide over her as if she doesn't exist whatsoever (she tries to ignore the pang in her chest every single time it happens-she should be used to it by now). The fact is made even more obvious when the one to the right reaches out to pull the chair out, probably intending to sit in it with a single, smooth move, before trying to hit on the beauty with an incredibly crass and statement that he assumes is incredibly alluring and enough to have her in his bed by the end of the night.

Yeah. Kuroko reads (and enjoys) incredibly cliché teen romance. Sue her.

However, it seems like his plan will never even begin to start. Just as his hand closes around the back of Kuroko's chair, and just as she's about to open her mouth and tell him (politely) that someone is actually occupying this space, the girl opens her mouth. A smooth, drawling voice pours out of her lips, and Kuroko immediately knows that if Aomine-kun and this girl ever meet, she'd be hard-pressed to keep him away from her (even if she has a severe lack of, as Aomine-kun so crassly puts it, "a rack"). "Excuse me, _boya_ , there's someone sitting in that seat you're about to take _without asking for my permission_. Either knock yourself off of your self-proclaimed and unwarranted high horse, or get you and your ugly mug out of here, _boya_."

Despite his cherry red face, the boy and his friends all turn their attention to Kuroko, who chimes in with a timely, "Good evening."

She watches, faintly amused as the three practically jump five feet in the air when she suddenly "appears" before their very eyes. The one who has about to sit on her rubs his eyes, and he isn't the only one. They're all quick to bow and dash out of the place, which only draws attention back to their table, although the brunt of it is shouldered by the other girl, who doesn't seem at all bothered by it. In fact, she's staring intently at Kuroko, whose self-consciousness from before comes back in full force. Before the silence can stretch to intolerable lengths, the girl speaks up first. "I'm Ryoma. Echizen Ryoma."

"Echizen-san," Kuroko says immediately, and the girl raises her hand, shaking her head.

"Call me Ryoma."

"Echizen-chan."

" _Ryo-ma_."

"Echizen."

"I saved your life, bought you tea, and saved you again from being squashed like a pancake under some random stranger's butt. You owe me." Ryoma-chan's golden eyes glitter with a strange mix of condescension, mirth, and annoyance.

Kuroko can't even feel slightly annoyed that her companion is practically blackmailing her. She's even impressed-within the first hours of meeting her, this sharp-tongued, stubborn girl has already figured out the best way to convince Kuroko to do something. It has more to do with the idea of owing someone something in return for a favor (or multiple) than her overly polite nature, and for that, Kuroko relents. "Ryoma-chan."

Somewhat.

Ryoma-chan seems to understand that Kuroko won't budge on this point (which only impresses Kuroko even more), and she merely sighs, downing the last bit of her Ponta (it's one of those enormous cans, which shouldn't be drunk within the course of a month, much less in one sitting that has lasted only, at a maximum, two hours). "That's as good as it's going to get, then. Is your cousin coming any time soon?"

Kuroko cocks her head to the side, confusion coursing through her. _How does Ryoma-chan know about Seijūrō?_ Even though Kuroko is absolutely sure that her expression hasn't changed, Ryoma-chan seems to pick up on her confusion, and she shakes her head, a slight smirk pulling at the corner of her lips. "I'm not a stalker. I go to the same school as Seijūrō. Actually, he's the reason why I'm even here in the first place."

 _Seijūrō?_ Kuroko stares at Ryoma-chan. The only person who has ever called Seijūrō by his first name without almost dying is Kuroko herself (his father and her parents included, but she's pretty sure that he only tolerates them because they're family), though to be fair, not many (especially not _girls_ ) bother to learn Seijūrō's first name. His family name really does leave no room for introductions. "You go to Rakuzan?"

Ryoma-chan raises an eyebrow in an _are-you-an-idiot?_ fashion but otherwise affirms with a nod.

Kuroko frowns internally, staring down into her cup of tea intently. Seijūrō has never been the most open person (in fact, if Kuroko hadn't been as good at intelligence gathering and analytical strategizing as Satsuki-chan and, occasionally, Seijūrō himself, she would never have discovered more than half of what she knows about Seijūrō now), so Kuroko understands why he never mentioned Ryoma-chan, who, from what little Kuroko has been able to gather, has definitely left quite the impression on him. It isn't so much that she has no knowledge on the current development than the fact that she's angry and even a little hurt that he didn't trust her enough to tell her about Ryoma-chan.

In fact, whether or not Kuroko's lack of knowledge relative to Ryoma-chan's presence in Seijūrō's life has to do with a lack of trust on Seijūrō's part, Kuroko will be and _is_ negatively affected by being kept in the dark about this. Seijūrō has never bothered to associate someone who clearly has no relation to basketball (unless he is forced to), and Ryoma-chan clearly has never played basketball in her entire life. If her words from earlier, the rather indifferent, "He's the reason why I'm even here in the first place.", aren't enough proof, then the fact that she attends Rakuzan and Kuroko has never heard of her is solid evidence. Despite Kuroko's seemingly rather blunt approach towards her opponents on court, behind the scenes, she's much more like Satsuki-chan. She has information on all of the extremely notable high school basketball players in Japan-so she's not as obsessive as the pink-haired manager of Touou, but she won't willingly walk into a match completely blind (unlike a certain red-haired first year ace on her team). Kuroko would know of any and all basketball players who attend Rakuzan, especially those who Seijūrō would willingly associate with. His alter ego has made it quite clear that he absolutely loathes to recognize those who he considers to be weak.

Kuroko is hurt that Seijūrō couldn't even bother to take a few seconds to tell her.

The silence during Kruoko's heavy internal reflection has grown too much for Kuroko to break it without sounding impolite. While normally blunt and uncaring of what people think of her, she finds herself second-guessing her actions and her thoughts with Ryoma-chan, and that isn't acceptable. Maybe it's because of her ridiculous presence, or maybe it's because Kuroko is still slightly shocked over the revelation of the relationship between her aloof cousin and the stranger sitting across from her (it's a bit surreal, the idea that Kuroko hadn't known Ryoma-chan existed until only a few hours ago-it honestly feels as if they've known each other for years).

Either way, neither girl makes a move to break the heavy silence that has fallen over them following Kuroko's question. Just as Kuroko raises her cup up to her lips again to take a sip of the now cold tea, something buzzes, and both girls instinctively look down at the table, Ryoma-chan to her right and Kuroko to her left. Both of their phones are lit up, and before she even reads the message, she knows that the same words are printed across the two screens.

"It looks like Seijūrō's coming to us," Ryoma-chan states, turning her phone off without bothering to reply. Then again, if she did, Kuroko would worry about the future of her mental state, because Seijūrō doesn't take kindly to people who question his orders-even if the reply is nothing more than a simple, _"Okay."_

"It seems so," Kuroko murmurs, following Ryoma-chan's previous course of action by turning her screen off. The only thing that they can do now is wait for Seijūrō to come to them. He has always been one to run on his own schedule, and ever since Seijūrō had awakened his Emperor Eye in second year, he does not tolerate even the slightest suggestion directed towards what he does, when he does it, or how he does it. From the way Ryoma-chan, who Kuroko feels doesn't often take direction as kindly or obediently as Kuroko herself does, merely rests her chin on her hand and stares out of the window without expressing much displeasure over Seijūrō's baselessly (in context to Ryoma-chan, who probably hasn't known Seijūrō all that long or Kuroko would've noticed the difference in Seijūrō's countenance that brought on this situation by now) superior command, Kuroko knows that Ryoma-chan understands that part of Seijūrō, which she has to admire, because there are many who have known Seijūrō for years without understanding his thirst, need, even, for assurance.

Maybe Ryoma-chan will be good for Seijūrō.

Kuroko isn't sure how much more time passes before the doors open, letting in a cold blast of air that causes Ryoma-chan to surreptitiously shiver and hunch further into the flimsy windbreaker (why did she order an ice cold Ponta if she's this cold?), followed by a head of bright red hair so much lighter than Kagami-kun's and piercing pair of heterochromatic red and gold eyes. The entire café comes to a hush at his entrance, and Kuroko is immediately struck by the heavy pressure of the two ridiculous presences in the space that now feels much smaller than before. Seijūrō has always had a strong presence that, combined with his odd coloring, draws attention no matter where he goes, only to draw even more once they find out what his surname is and what his accomplishments are. Even off court, it's hard to ignore him when it feels like he's intentionally trying to intimidate, staying physically quiet even as his aura practically screams, _"Pay attention to_ me _! I am_ here _!"_

Sitting here, in between two people who have drawn more attention each than Kuroko ever will in her entire life, is a rather nerve-wracking experience.

Seijūrō reaches their table, and he only needs to look at Ryoma-chan before she automatically replies, "Nope, I'm comfortable. You can afford to get your own chair. Besides, half the girls in this room wouldn't even wait for you to finish the question before throwing their little brothers', thier grandmothers', and their boyfriends' chairs at you."

If Kuroko were anybody else, she would watch the entire interaction slack-jawed, first at the words of greeting that come pouring out of Ryoma-chan's mouth, then at the fact that Seijūrō _knowingly_ and _willingly_ backs off, politely asking the neighboring table if he could borrow one of their empty chairs (one of the girls nods fervently, the second squeals, and the third faints), a slightly sardonic smirk twisting his lips the entire time. Kuroko hadn't even been able to do something as shocking as this even once throughout the entirety of her very strong relationship with Seijūrō, so it utterly baffles her mind that Ryoma-chan, who hasn't even known him for a month, has.

Seijūrō glances at Kuroko, and his eyes immediately narrow. Before she can react, his hand shoots out and grips her chin, tilting her head up so he can see her eyes at a better angle. He sighs, shaking his head as he inspects her right eye, and Kuroko realizes two things.

One: he's comfortable enough around Ryoma-chan to reveal something that took the entire Generation of Miracles two years to find out.

And two: he doesn't know what happened a couple hours prior to this point.

"Tetsuya," he murmurs, dangerously quietly, dropping his hand in order to reach into his pocket. Fishing around for a moment, he finally pulls out his phone and types out a quick message to someone-most likely to the Akashi chauffeur to come and pick them up (whether "them" includes Ryoma-chan or not, Kuroko isn't quite sure yet, though she sure hopes that it does). "What happened?"

Kuroko, in a rare show of hesitation, stays silent for a few moments, staring blankly up at Seijūrō, who, in a rare show of mercy, waits patiently for her to respond.

Ryoma-chan, however, doesn't seem to be cooperating with the theme of being uncharacteristic, because after a few seconds pass by, she lets out a disgusted little huff before snappily answering his question with a brief, succinct answer. "She almost got hit by a car."

"What?" Seijūrō's head whips towards Ryoma-chan before he turns to look at Kuroko again, who sports a sheepish air and a slightly apologetic head bow. "Are you injured?"

"Ryoma-chan pushed me aside in time," Kuroko replies calmly, almost wincing when Seijūrō slams his hands onto the table. The normally calm Akashi heir is expressing much more of his genuine feelings than usual, but then again, being told that your cousin was almost ran over by a car tends to mess you up in the head. "Seijūrō, it really isn't worth making too much of a fuss over it."

"You were almost run over, Tetsuya, how is this not a big deal?" Seijūrō hisses, lowering his voice so that curious meddlers don't overhear the topic of the conversation. "You could've _died_."

"But I'm still alive," Kuroko counters bluntly, and Seijūrō shakes his head, glancing at the screen of his phone again. Half of it is because he wants to check the status of his chauffeur while the other half of it is to calm him down. Kuroko has found out over the years that whenever Seijūrō feels particularly affected by something, he'll try to find something work-related to help him back into his dangerously serene state once more. She doubts that what he's doing is particularly healthy, but she knows better than to argue with him. At least on his own, he may come to that conclusion, but if she tries to tell him otherwise herself, he would stubbornly continue onwards with this act, if only to prove that he is "absolute" by way of being right.

Seijūrō doesn't bother to answer, instead standing up and returning the chair to the table he had originally taken it from (one girl faints, the second squeals, and the third has a nosebleed) with a curt expression of gratitude. "Kota has just arrived. We will continue this conversation in the car."

Kuroko sighs mentally before standing, pushing her chair in. She raises her head when the scrape of a chair reaches her ears, and Ryoma-chan shoves her hands into the pockets of her windbreaker as she begins to leave. "Where are you going?"

"Hmm?" Ryoma-chan stops, glancing back at the cousins. With her relaxed stance and piercing eyes, she resembles Aomine-kun before he blossomed so much, Kuroko's chest aches in response. (Note to self: never introduce Ryoma-chan to Aomkine-kun or vice versa-the world would not be able to survive the explosive combination of rude, snarky conceitedness.) "It looks like you two have got some serious talking to do. I'm going home for tonight." For a split second, her expression changes from arrogant disinterest to something darker, but before Kuroko can pinpoint exactly which emotions are flashing across her face, they disappear, and Kuroko, for the first time, thinks that maybe, just maybe, there are three masters at manipulating emotions standing here instead of just two. "I'll meet you two at the gym tomorrow. I might be a little bit late, so there's no need to wait."

_Not that he would in the first place._

"Is there any particular reason?" Of course, Kuroko isn't the only one who noticed, and Ryoma-chan is quite aware of the fact as well, if the way her eyes narrow slightly and the warning tone in her sharp response has anything to say on the subject.

"Tennis," she replies curtly, and Kuroko immediately understands the other girl's athletic figure, how she got into Rakuzan (if not purely because of her grades), and her ability to put up with Seijūrō's attitude (maybe even why he's interested in her in the first place).

Unlike basketball, tennis is a solo sport. There may be a team, but when on court, you're alone (well, if you play singles, and Kuroko is pretty sure that Ryoma-chan is most likely unable to play doubles).

_In tennis, there's no such thing as teamwork._

Seijūrō watches Ryoma-chan with sharp eyes, and Kuroko is sure that he's contemplating something about her when he speaks up, "We'll drop you off, then."

Her face tightens for a moment before she relents. Seijūrō nods in approval before leading the way out of the café. Ryoma-chan falls in step with Kuroko, staring straight ahead with her hands still tucked into the pockets of her windbreaker, a far away look on her face. Understanding, Kuroko doesn't attempt to speak as a sleek black limousine pulls up in front of the store with impeccable timing. Ryoma-chan doesn't look surprised at all when Seijūrō walks straight towards the fancy vehicle, even as the chauffeur comes around the car and random passersby point at the limousine, whispering to each other behind their hands as they sneak glances at Seijūrō.

The two follow him into the car, and it doesn't take long for them to be on their way. Since neither Seijūrō nor Ryoma-chan say anything that relates to her home address, Kuroko assumes that the chauffeur knows where to go, especially since the car begins to drive in the opposite direction of Kuroko's apartment, where she knows Seijūrō will be dropping her off at. A year ago, they would've headed to his place, but now, that isn't an option.

"What's wrong with your eye?" Ryoma-chan breaks the tense silence, and Kuroko is somewhat surprised at the fact that she _isn't_ surprised. There really is something too calculating about the golden-eyed beauty staring out the window, and Kuroko isn't sure whether it's a good thing or a bad thing.

Kuroko blinks for a moment, reminding herself that her contact isn't in her eye anymore. Strange, that she had forgotten throughout the duration of her time with Ryoma-chan. Normally, she would be bugged and irritated (and slightly scared, she can't deny that fact), but this evening, she... _forgot_.

_How is that possible?_

"An accident," Kuroko answers after a moment of deliberation. She feels as if she has to offer more than she usually does (a dismissive, "Nothing." accompanied by a smooth change in the subject), yet at the same time, she doesn't want to relate _everything_ , so she settles for a vague, neutral answer that can be interpreted in many ways.

Ryoma-chan snorts derisively, making it obvious just how unconvinced she is right now, but she plays along with a curt, "I see." before abiding to Kuroko's silent wish and doesn't question her anymore.

Seijūrō raises a slight eyebrow in the corner of Kuroko's eyes, and she surreptitiously shakes her head.

When they pull up in front of what Kuroko assumes to be Ryoma-chan's... _house_ , her eyes narrow just slightly upon seeing the state of her house. From the way Seijūrō's eyes flick from the plot in front of them to Ryoma-chan, she knows that they're on the same page.

The area looks like it used to be nice looking temple once, but now, it looks just as dilapidated as some of the buildings in the darker sides of Tokyo, the complete opposite of all of the nice houses that surround it. The yard is completely overgrown, with weeds and grass running rampant, and the main house has vines and cracks running across it. Kuroko's eyes zero in on the empty beer bottles and bursting trash bags that line the porch, and her eyes cut sharply towards Ryoma-chan, who, despite the nonchalant expression she sports, is tenser than before. When she looks back at the place that she refuses to call a "human residence," her sharp eyes catch on what looks like a bell tower and a tennis court hidden slightly beyond the main house. The bell tower looks dirty and rusted, as if it hasn't been used in years, or someone has been trying very hard to make it dirty, and in the fading light, Kuroko swears that the color red gleams on a particularly dark splotch on the bell itself, but that's _impossible_ , it's probably just a trick of the light. The tennis court, or what little she can see of it, seems to be the only clean thing in the entire jungle, and she remembers that Ryoma-chan had said that she would be playing tennis tomorrow.

"Ryoma-" Seijūrō begins, and later Kuroko will gather enough courage to begin puzzling over just _why_ there is so much concern in her cousin's voice for Ryoma-chan when one of his eyes is gold and the other is red, but right now, he is cut off abruptly by the girl in question herself, who hurriedly opens the door without waiting for the chauffeur.

"See you tomorrow," she practically growls out, and then the door slams closed and Ryoma-chan rushes into the place, the gate shuddering under the strength with which she used to close it.

"She's fast," Kuroko remarks, voice as steady as ever, even as a roiling storm brews underneath her skin. The limousine begins moving again, this time in the direction of her apartment, and she and Seijūrō can now speak freely. "If she goes as fast as she possibly can, I feel as if she would even be able to match Aomine-kun in ZONE."

"She can surpass him," Seijūrō replies, and Kuroko knows better than to question him even though she of all people knows the full extent of Aomine-kun's monstrous strength. Seijūrō isn't one to flatter-just like Kuroko, he will say what he sees, though the only difference is that Kuroko is occasionally mindful of what her words might sound like while he has no problem with ruthlessly stating his opinion as fact, no matter what happens. "Ryoma is a one in a million jewel that only comes once a century. In another world, in another time, if she had taken up basketball instead of tennis..." Seijūrō's eyes flash slightly at the word, and Kuroko immediately understands that he's thinking of what the two had seen mere seconds ago. "She would most likely be the ace of the Generation of Miracles instead of Daiki."

Kuroko shakes her head. At this point, she has to disagree. Even if she can believe that Ryoma-chan's speed rivals, maybe even surpasses, Aomine-kun's, she cannot believe that she is superior in all aspects. "I highly doubt that every part of Ryoma-chan is superior to Aomine-kun-"

"I didn't say that she was," Seijūrō interrupts, the stony look still present on his face. "I merely said that she would've been the ace. What she lacks in terms of what Daiki has in overabundance, she makes up for it in her balance. Overall, her stability would make her more of an asset than Daiki, who can only specialize in a few aspects while falling short in others."

Kuroko contemplates the answer in her head, seeing the logic behind Seijūrō's words. After all, just as Kuroko knows Aomine-kun's monstrous strength, she also knows his worst weaknesses. She, of all people, would understand his reasoning. "How did you get to know her?"

A ghost of a smile appears on Seijūrō's lips, and Kuroko is beyond shocked when an even softer voice answers her. "Do you know how old she is?"

Kuroko frowns slightly, shaking her head. In the privacy of a private setting, where they know that no one else can listen, can see, they let their emotions show, if only the slightest bit. "She's shorter than me, and less developed, but I thought that she was in her first year of high school. Are you saying that she's younger?"

"Two years younger."

"What?"

"She skipped two grades and tested into Rakuzan. She may not act like it, but she's book smart."

"What does her age have anything to do with this?"

"I...admire her."

The rest of the ride is spent in silence until they reach Kuroko's apartment. The limousine sits idling in front of the building as Seijūrō gives one last parting word. "Tetsuya. Don't lose your contacts again."

"I won't, Seijūrō."

"And I'm waiting for you at the top."

A glint appears in Kuroko's eyes, and she nods firmly. "I'm coming for you, Seijūrō. _Seirin_ and _our_ new basketball- _we_ are coming for you."

If Seijūrō understands her emphasis, he doesn't indicate so.

* * *

"Why'd you call me out here so late, huh, Tetsuya?"

Kuroko glances up from her position on the center circle as she bounces the basketball in her hand, puzzling over her latest technique. She's been in the process of developing it for quite some time, but right now...

"Good evening, Kagami-kun."

Kagami-kun sighs as he strides towards her, stifling a yawn behind his hand. He looks like he just got out of bed (he was probably trying to sleep early for the game tomorrow), and Kuroko internally winces at the slight pang of guilt that hits her, but Kagami-kun, as alway, senses it, because he shakes his head and waves his hand tiredly. "I don't mind, Tetsuya, really. As long as whatever you want me here for is important. By the way, where did you disappear after today's game? Coach was _really_ mad."

"Will you help me practice my new drive?" Kuroko asks, not answering is second question, and she's extremely grateful for Kagami-kun's denseness in cases like these, because he doesn't seem to notice when he starts, a shocked look on his face.

"What the hell? You _still_ haven't finished that?"

It's not that she wants to keep her relation to Seijūrō a secret-really, it's not even a secret. Rather, she knows that he'll ask what she was doing with him, and she doesn't want to get into the events of tonight, because that would mean that she would have to explain much, much more than she is currently willing to share.

"I've done everything I can on my own. I just need you to help me perfect it." She catches the basketball mid-bounce and stares determinedly at Kagami-kun. "I just need you to help me perfect it."

He straightens slightly, and the shock from earlier wears off as a smile spreads across his face. To a team player, it's the ultimate sign of trust when another teammate asks for help on a new technique because it means, _"I trust you, I respect you, I_ need _your help."_ "I get it. Sure. Bring it on." The softness from earlier fades into his cocky smirk when faced with a challenge.

The two face off, Kuroko standing on the edge of the center circle as she bounces the basketball while Kagami-kun falls into a defensive position, his eyes tracking her every move.

What happens next happens so quickly, Kagami isn't sure whether he hallucinated it or nor.

From one blink of an eye to the next, Kuroko has disappeared in front of him and reappeared behind him. He hadn't seen her, hadn't smelled her, hadn't even _heard_ her, and yet here he stands, facing empty space. _Amazing...If she can pull this off, it really will be an unstoppable drive!_

Except he's _not_ facing empty space.

A thump echoes in his ears, and he looks down, only to see the basketball that should've been in Kuroko's possession bouncing next to his feet. She lets out a softly surprised sound behind him, and Kagami bends down to pick the ball up before he whirls around, shouting, "Don't give me that! Done everything, my ass! You lost the ball!"

"I lost the ball," Kuroko repeats in that bland tone of her's, and Kagami's hands tighten on the ball.

"I just said that!" His glare intensifies when she ignores him in favor of staring at her hand, as if still wondering where the ball has gone. "Hey! Don't ignore me!" He agitatedly twists the ball in his hands, and that's when he feels it. Looking down, he sees just exactly what the cause of the unnaturally smooth texture is. _The leather's been mostly worn off. It's so smooth. Well, it doesn't take long for this to happen when you use a basketball outside. Still, I can't believe she did this just over the summer._

Anger slightly depleted, Kagami raises the ball and bounces it to Kuroko, who catches it in her hands. She gives her version of a frown (which really isn't anything more than a slight twitch of her mouth-honestly, it could be a smile for all he knows) as she stares down at it, lightly rubbing the surface. "I need a new ball. I wish I could use the gym more. This is the sixth one."

Kagami's eyes widen at her words, and he can only stare at her as she turns around, seemingly forgetting his presence as she probably continues to think about her problem of wearing out basketballs.

_What. The. Fuck?_


	8. Eighth: Liars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because a Takao-Kuroko broship is perfection. Inspired by the "When Shadows Meet" series by cywscross.
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

The game against Senshinkan goes smoothly without a hitch. Despite having been utterly pulverized by the utter team during Inter-High and the previous year, Seirin easily whirls through Senshinkan's defense and pushes back its offense. Utilizing Izuki-senpai's quick wits as a point guard, Hyuuga-senpai's fearless threes, and Kiyoshi-senpai's revealed Right of Postponement, the game ends 76-61 in Seirin's favor.

Kuroko lets the slightest smile appear across her face as she hears her teammates elated shouts and cheers, along with the spectators' awed rumblings.

"Amazing!"

"They destroyed the king, Senshinkan!"

"Seirin's really strong!"

On instinct (which she rarely ever follows, to be perfectly honest), Kuroko turns around, her eyes searching the crowd. A flash of red and gold registers in the back of her mind, and she casually swings her gaze back towards it. She can just barely see Seijūrō's outline leaning casually against a corner of the walls of the gym, but her eyes narrow when she doesn't catch sight of a flash of molten gold or emerald next to him. A slight sliver of worry begins to gnaw at her when she remembers the state of Ryoma-chans' house the night before. _Just what is happening?_

Kuroko is no idiot, she has a very strong idea on just what is going on with Ryoma-chan, but she's hoping beyond hope that it's not true.

Because if it is...Seijūrō won't be the only one holding something sharp at the end of the day. (Her sudden homicidal urges surprise her so much, she immediately consciously refuses to accept that she just threatened an unknown specter for something that may or may not have happened to a girl Kuroko had only met just yesterday-even though that very girl did save her life. She decides to reflect on the moral schematics of the situation later, and pushes it to the back of her mind.)

Just as she begins to turn back towards her team in order to pack up, her eyes catch on a certain row of jerseys, and she pauses to take a closer look.

"Hey, isn't that Kirisaki Daīchi's first string?"

"What? Where?"

"They should be playing Shutoku right now."

"Why are they watching Seirin's game?"

Kuroko's eyes land on the group of dark green and black jerseys, zeroing in on a certain smug captain's face. His lips are curled up into a twisted smirk, eyes drilling into Kuroko. As if mocking her, he begins to speak. His teammates think that he's speaking to them, but his words and his eyes are directed at Kuroko, whose senses have been honed to perfection, especially after the...accident. "We lost to Shutoku, but our remaining two wins have been decided. We're done analyzing here."

He and his team all stand up, moving off the bleachers, and Kuroko's eyes follow the back of Hanamiya Makoto as he walks away. _What is he playing at?_

"Seems like Shutoku won, too."

"We both have one win," Coach Aida states. "If we win another game, we'll secure a spot in the Winter Cup. If we lose, our chance will fall far out of reach."

Kuroko watches dispassionately as Shutoku slowly comes to a stop across from Seirin, a healthy amount of distance in between the two teams. She glances at the scoreboard-123-51 in Shutoku's favor. In normal circumstances, that would mean something.

But considering the fact that Kuroko saw the entire first string of Kirisaki Daīchi sitting in the stands, looking as if they don't have a care in the world (now that she thinks about it, they probably don't), these aren't normal circumstances, so she is unable to gauge the difference in Shutoku's strength compared to last time.

Her eyes seek Midorima-kun, and when they find him, she isn't at all surprised to see that he and Kagami-kun are locked in a stare-down. Even Midorima-kun must have heard it...after all, they _all_ did.

_The sound of a door being forced open._

The two teams leave the courts using opposite directions, never speaking one word.

In Seirin's locker room, Hyuuga-senpai looks ready for war. "There's no time to celebrate. Our next game is sure to be a difficult one."

"But we have Kiyoshi-senpai!" Fukuda-kun cries in an attempt to lighten the heavy atmosphere.

"We're better than we were before," Kawahara-kun agrees. "We beat them last time."

The hopeful light in his eyes fades along with Fukuda-kun's slightly strained smile when Kuroko finally speaks up. "I wouldn't so sure."

"Huh?" Everyone's eyes turn towards Kuroko, all of them holding some variation of surprise. She hasn't spoken since they first met up for the match, and event hen all she had said was a polite greeting. Her quiet contribution is a slight shock to the team, who had thought that she would be staying quiet for the entire day. (Not that they necessarily want her too-it's just that she's done it so many times, they don't know what to expect anymore.)

"That's precisely why I think the next game will be difficult."

Coach Aida nods, her hands dropping to her side from where she had been rubbing her chin in deep thought. "Kuroko-chan seems to have the right idea. Our previous victory was too good to be true!"

Fukuda-kun, Furihata-kun, and Kawahara-kun all flinch just slightly at the sharp tone that had entered Coach Aida's voice, but nobody disagrees because they all know that it's true.

"Shutoku is absolutely better than us."

"But now, they don't think so," Hyuuga-senpai continues Coach Aida's train of thought, a grim look on his face. The pieces of the puzzle are falling into place, and the picture doesn't look very pretty. "They should be looking down on us as the superior team, but they'll be coming at us with everything they have. On top of that, we'll be facing a member of the Generation of Miracles. This won't be easy."

By the time Seirin has finally packed up, the place is relatively empty. They walk silently down the hallways towards the front entrance, the only sounds being the taps of their feet on the floors. Kuroko is walking towards the back of the group, and that is the only reason why she notices the exact moment and place where Kiyoshi-senpai stops and calls, "Sorry, everyone. You guys go on ahead."

Kuroko can't see much from the angle that she's standing at, but she already has a hunch on just why Kiyoshi-senpai has stopped, and she's not happy about it at all. _A meeting between yin and yang..._

"Okay," Hyuuga-senpai says, shooting Kiyoshi-senpai the briefest of warning looks before turning and leading the rest of the group, none of whom are the slightest bit aware of the situation at hand. Kagami-kun hesitates for a split second, his nostrils flaring, and Kuroko remembers that he could "smell people" in terms of basketball talent, and even though she disapproves of his style, there's no denying the fact that Hanamiya Makoto is a _genius_.

Just not a genius who uses his mind for good.

Kuroko glances at Kiyoshi-senpai, who seems to understand, because he merely nods in response before dismissing her. She sends one last glance at the hallway that Kiyoshi-senpai has turned to before following the rest of Seirin. As she leaves, she can hear Kiyoshi-senpai's suddenly serious voice. "It's been a while, Hanamiya."

"Did Kiyoshi-senpai forget something?" Furihata-kun asks as the group comes to a stop near the entrance, waiting for Kiyoshi-senpai to wrap up whatever business he has. Kuroko quickly and discreetly slips her phone out of her bag, quickly informing Seijūrō that she'll be a little bit late coming out. He doesn't reply, so she takes his silence as a promise to wait for her.

"Yeah, something like that," Hyuuga-senpai replies, and it takes everything in Kuroko to keep herself from snorting at the far too obvious flippant tone he responded with, as if trying to make those who don't understand what just happened lose interest, but when Kagami-kun steps up, his plan seems to backfire.

"Is it about that guy at the corner?" A surprisingly astute observation leaves Kagami-kun's mouth (it's not that Kuroko doesn't doubt his intelligence-it's just that she doesn't _rely_ on it), and Hyuuga-senpai seems just as surprised and slightly annoyed that his plans have been foiled.

"Oh? You noticed?" The slight challenge doesn't go unnoticed by Kuroko, but Kagami-kun's moment of intelligence seems to be just that-a moment, because he doesn't pick up on the subliminal message.

"Just that he's pretty good," he responds, the obvious question in his statement causing Hyuuga-senpai to sigh.

"Well, it's nothing to hide," he murmurs, having given up already. "In the world of middle school basketball, Tekio's Generation of Miracles were the best." Kagami-kun glances at Kuroko, who only stares back at him, face as carefully blank as ever. His eyes flicker over her mask, and he seems to find what he was looking for because he nods before turning back to Hyuuga-senpai, leaving a somewhat confused Kuroko to continue to stare at his profile. "Needless to say, they're the five prodigies whose stunning power led to three national championships. However, there were others who are only one year older. Five talented players capable of going head-to-head with the Generation of Miracles. If they'd been born in another era, they may have been called the Generation of Miracles. Including Kiyoshi, the five of them are known as the Uncrowned Kings, or Crownless Generals. That guy was one of them. The 'Bad Boy' Hanamiya Makoto."

The level of spite in Hyuuga-senpai's usually crystal clear voice (when he's not in clutch mode) piques Kuroko's interest, but she doesn't say anything even as Kagami-kun's eyes narrow.

"If he stayed behind to greet him, they must be friends, right?" Furihata-kun asks, an almost immediate regretful flinch shaking his body when Hyuuga-senpai turns to fully face him, the tense atmosphere only thickening.

"It's just the opposite. You could say that he's the contradiction of Kiyoshi." Hyuuga-senpai frowns, glaring down at the ground. "If Kiyoshi's the most honest basketball player, then he's the most dishonest."

Seirin lapses into an uncomfortable silence after that, and Hyuuga-senpai excuses himself to move over to the other second years, where he begins to converse in hushed conversation with them. As he does, Kagami-kun turns towards Kuroko, who is lightly fiddling with the strap of her bag, a faraway look in her eyes. The moment she feels his gaze on her, she immediately stops her excess movement, but Kagami-kun has already seen it. His accusatory gaze is all he needs for her to understand the question, but she ignores it in favor of asking softly, "Did you want something, Kagami-kun?"

He shoots her a dirty look but lets the subject drop, instead asking, "Do you know them? The Crownless Generals, I mean. You've played against them, right?"

Kuroko slowly nods her head, resisting the urge to fiddle with her strap again. It's always been a bad habit of her's to play around with the objects within her vicinity whenever she's thinking, and she's been trying to stop for the past few years. If Kagami-kun wasn't aware of the habit preceding this moment, it means that she must've been doing a good enough job, but as of right now, she's having a bit of a relapse. "Three."

When Kuroko doesn't bother to elaborate, Kagami-kun lets out a little growl of impatience. "Have you played against this Hana Mako guy?"

Kuroko slowly blinks at him, slightly amused at the other's unintentional mess up of Hanamiya-san's name. "Hanamiya Makoto. I have."

"And?" When Kuroko's eyes begin to get that faraway look in them again, Kagami-kun groans before waving his hand in front of her face. "Hey, I'm talking to you! What was his basketball like?"

He recoils when a dark look briefly flashes across Kuroko's face. It was gone as quickly as it came, but in the moment that it was there, it had looked so out of place, it was ten times scarier than it would be on anyone else. "I don't like it," is all she says before a cheery voice that belongs to none other than Kiyoshi-senpai calls out to Seirin.

The group finally leaves the building, and as Kuroko branches off from them with a polite farewell, she can still feel Kagami-kun's questioning gaze burning into her back.

She waits for Seirin to disappear out of sight before she turns in the opposite direction. It doesn't take long until someone falls in step with her, and Seijūrō's smooth voice intones, "Ryoma didn't show up."

The silver of worry from before has been festering deep within her, and following Seijūrō's words, it blossoms into an almost full-out panic. Her voice is calm, though, even as she murmurs, "I hope that it's not true,"

Seijūrō, who knows her better than anyone else, even Kagami-kun, even Aomine-kun, glances at her before lightly dropping his hand onto her head. Normally she would hate it, she would swat it away because _everyone_ knows that she doesn't like it when someone touches her hair, but then again, this is more for Seijūrō than it is for Kuroko, so she lets him be. "So do I."

And that's when Kuroko realizes that Ryoma-chan means more to Seijūrō than almost anyone else in his life.

The cousins eventually find themselves standing just outside of the place where they had left Ryoma-chan just the night before. If possible, it looks even more run down under the last fading rays of the sun. More beer bottles are scattered around the lawn than before, and now that Kuroko is standing right in front of it, she can see that a rug of cigarette stubs covers the porch, and even more litter the overgrown lawn. She almost wants to stop breathing just so she can't inhale the vomit-inducing fumes that are wafting her way from the pile of trash she can see, and it completely _boggles_ her mind as to why someone like Ryoma-chan, of all people, is willingly spending her time here (no one could possibly _enjoy_ living in this pigsty, and Ryoma-chan didn't strike Kuroko as one to back down, so _why_ is she living _here_?), not to mention the question is to why none of the neighbors have yet called social services on the owner of the house because this mess _has_ to have violated _some_ sort of law.

As if on cue, a door swings open, and Kuroko watches as a mother walks out of a house some doors down from the one she's currently standing in front of, holding two hands-one belonging to a little girl and the other to a little boy-fraternal twins, if Kuroko has to guess. The boy grins toothily up at his exasperatedly fond mother and begins to drag her in Kuroko and Seijūrō's direction, at which point her eyes catch on exactly where the cousins are standing, and she pales considerably. As Kuroko watches, she quickly redirects her children's attention before quickly ushering them away from Ryoma-chan's house, which only begs the question:

_Why hasn't anyone called the police yet?_

Seijūrō doesn't say anything as he carefully pushes the gate open and picks his way through the lawn, eyes fixed on the front door. Kuroko hesitates for a split second before following after him, making sure to close the gate firmly. The smell hits her senses in the worst place the moment she passes through the opening and onto the lawn, almost causing her eyes to water (too bad she reigns over her tear ducts with a steel fist) and her nose to fall off of her face-the smell is _that_ bad. Seijūrō seems completely unaffected, but the disdainful look he shoots at the slightly opened and torn bag spilling its contents (she _really_ doesn't want to know what those bundles of cloth are, nor where those bones come from-if it provides a little bit of consolation, they're too small to be human bones) says more than any amount of words or pictures can.

The steps creak ominously as Seijūrō ascends them, and Kuroko suddenly realizes the position that she's in, and it's ridiculous enough to make her want to laugh out loud, which she almost _never_ does, and especially _never_ for the fact that she might black out at any moment, yet at the same time, there's something so intrinsically _humorous_ about what she's doing and what she's feeling, even though, in reality, there's nothing funny about it whatsoever.

He knocks on the door, firm and infallible. Seconds pass, and nothing is heard other than their soft breaths and the shifting of the trash being pushed around by the wind, and during that time, Kuroko wonders once again just why Ryoma-chan is still living here. Although she most likely lives in the Rakuzan dorms since the school is located in Kyoto, that doesn't explain why she came back here instead of going to a hotel. Even if her family lives here (and what kind of a family would live here? _The type that Kuroko hopes that Ryoma-chan doesn't have_ ), why come back here instead of staying somewhere...much less dangerous?

Seijūrō knocks again, and when no one comes to open the door, he glances at Kuroko before turning tail and leaving, a slight frown on his face because _someone has dared to defy him_ , though Kuroko is sure that there's another reason, deep within his subconscious, one that he will never admit to so long as one of his eyes is gold.

Neither of them try to go around the house, because they're polite enough to realize that trespassing is a high offense in the eyes of the court. Besides, the situation has to be handled delicately.

Otherwise, they may lose someone that, and they both realize this as they walk out of that dump of a house, they don't ever want to lose.

"Where do you think she is?" Kuroko finally asks once they're well away from that place, a place where she can't imagine someone as vibrant, as ridiculously _present_ as Ryoma-chan standing there, much less _living_. "Tokyo is a big city."

"There's only one other place she'd be," Seijūrō answers vaguely before falling into reflective silence. When he doesn't elaborate, Kuroko silently sighs and follows him to wherever Ryoma-chan is (because the certainty in his voice brokers no arguments).

It doesn't take long for her to notice where they are, and moments later, the basketball courts come into view. A group of six are playing three-on-three, and their laughs and light banter make her want to smile. She glances at Seijūrō, who either hasn't noticed or isn't acknowledging (it's most likely the latter) the courts as they walk straight past the courts. She wishes that he would look at those people's smiling faces, if only for just a second, because _this_ is what she believes basketball to be, and _this_ is what she wants to show to the Generation of Miracles, what she wants them to realize is what they have lost. Except her cousin doesn't, and she knows that she can't force him, or he'll snap.

Nobody wants to see a snapped Seijūrō.

The court disappears from sight as they turn the bend, and that's when Kuroko understands why Seijūrō led her here (it's definitely not because of the fun basketball that he doesn't even know that he has lost). A circle of stands surround a line of tennis courts, half of which are currently occupied by people of all ages, sizes, and genders. Some are good, some are amazing, others are bad, others are horrendously awful, to the point that even Kuroko winces on the inside upon watching a loud-mouthed boy about two years younger than her stumble and lose his balance in an attempt to receive a relatively slow serve.

"Street tennis," Kuroko states matter-of-factly as she and Seijūrō walk down the bleachers, searching for a familiar head of green-tinted black hair. They don't see one, but Kuroko notices another set of courts on the other side of the bleachers. She doesn't bother to get Seijūrō's attention as she turns and makes her way back up the bleachers and towards the other tennis courts, knowing that her cousin is following her. These courts are a bit hidden, so it's no wonder that only one of them is occupied, and coincidentally (or maybe not), Ryoma-chan is one of the two people there.

Kuroko comes to a stop as she sees just who exactly Ryoma-chan is playing against. Seijūrō comes to a stop next to her, and she catches sight of a glint in the dark right next to her as his eyes alight upon the scene before them.

Utter devestation. Those are the only words Kuroko can dredge up to describe just how horrible of a game the tennis match she's witnessing right now is. _Is this what tennis is?_

Ryoma-chan's back is turned to them, her short hair tied up into a ponytail, revealing the back of her neck, which is covered in round purple and blue bruises, stark against her golden skin. They look too much like imprints of heavy tennis balls for comfort, and the streaking lines of neon that come from the other side of the court do little to assuage Kuroko's discomfort. A baggy T-shirt and a pair of loose shorts hang off of Ryoma-chan's frame, revealing thin legs and arms that, while rippling with lean muscle and peppered with wounds (a myriad of colors that paint a grotesque picture across her skin), don't have much by the way of fat, and don't indicate a regular or healthy eating regime. Kuroko realizes for the first time just how _small_ Ryoma-chan is. She's noticed how short the girl is, even for someone who's age indicates that she should be in her second year of junior high instead of a freshman in high school, she's noticed the petite slimness of her frame, but Kuroko hasn't noticed just how delicate and, please don't ever let Ryoma-chan find out that she ever thought this, _frail_ the girl is. Despite having only been introduced to her the night before, Kuroko feels as if she's known Ryoma-chan her entire life, and to have such a striking epiphany hit her in such a harsh, jarring way-it hurts more than it should-it hurts when it shouldn't hurt in the first place.

Ryoma-chan's attitude seems bigger than life, so strong and unshakable, much like that of a certain teen standing next to her, the idea of this golden-eyed girl being hurt in any way seems so unrealistic, like a not so funny joke told by someone who doesn't understand the full context of the situation. Yet the proof is standing right before them, in the form of bruises across tanned, supposed to be unmarred skin, and Kuroko feels at a loss, something that hasn't happened in a while.

Seijūrō, however, doesn't seem to feel the same way, because he stalks forward determinedly, heading straight for the person that Echizen-chan is playing against. A shiver runs down her spine as Kuroko's eyes ghost over his figure again-the silver-haired teen with wild brown eyes reminds her of...Haizaki-kun.

Their play styles are almost identical, if not the sport-rough, uninhibited, dangerous. New bruises and cuts welling with blood appear across Echizen-chan's skin with every rally, and Kuroko can only watch in horror and disgust as the speed and power of the ball only increases, to the point where Kuroko is beginning to think that he's actually _trying_ to kill Echizen-chan, but unlike her ex-teammates (and some of her current ones), she's logical enough to notice that Ryoma-chan doesn't seem to be harassed-in fact, the girl running across the court seems to be in a relatively good mood, the flashes of her face that Kuroko occasionally catches showing that a bright smirk is pulling at her lips, even as more and more injuries form on her skin, and the match begins to resemble a sparring match more than a tennis match.

However, as Kuroko observes the silver-haired teen more, she finds herself comparing his play style more to Aomine-kun than Haizaki-kun-not necessarily because Aomine-kun plays dirty, but more because even she can tell that the silver-haired boy isn't following conventional forms, the equivalent being the chaos of streetball that Aomine-kun is a complete master at. He's impossibly flexible, able to bend his body in ways that no normal person can-much like Aomine-kun. He disregards normal sports conventions in favor of creating more effective ones that suit him better-much like Aomine-kun. He utilizes his natural speed and an innate strength in order to rise above his opponents on court-much like Aomine-kun.

In fact, the only difference between their two play styles is that one is for tennis and the other is for basketball-excluding the rough play, though. No matter how...different Aomine-kun is, even he must have some sort of honor, at least enough to recognize that physically hurting an opponent on court is one of the lowest things a sportsman could possibly do.

_Is tennis really that different?_

"How pathetic. Beating up a girl smaller than you just to win a game? And you call yourself a tennis player." Seijūrō's cold voice breaks the pace of the game, and both players look at up Seijūrō, somewhat startled. The silver-haired teen's face twists into a sneer while Ryoma-chan calmly raises her hand, easily catching the ball that was heading directly at her face. _It's faster than my Ignite Pass at it highest speed._ Considering how much Kagami-kun whines whenever he catches it, Kuroko doesn't want to know how much that catch hurt, considering how small the tennis ball is. In comparison, that shot probably had enough force to shred Echizen-chan's skin off, but she caught it like it was nothing.

"Seijūrō," Ryoma-chan says, tucking the ball into the pocket of her shorts. Kuroko walks up next to Seijūrō, nodding in greeting at Ryoma-chan, who only takes a few seconds to realize that a second person has arrived alongside him. The silver-haired teen is another matter entirely. His eyes are locked on Seijūrō, a vicious snarl pulling at his lips. "I'm not small."

"I never stated that you were small." Seijūrō gives Ryoma-chan a look that dares her to continue questioning his words, even as he clarifies himself when no such clarification is needed. "Merely that you are smaller than him."

 _He's changed,_ Kuroko realizes, _but is it a good change?_

"Oi, jackass. I don't give a fuck about who you are, but you're fucking interrupting some damn important business. So get the fuck out or I'm going to beat your punk ass," the silver-haired teen snaps, and from the way his hands are clenching his racket handle, everyone knows that he won't hesitate to do exactly just that.

Seijūrō's eyes flash, and just before he can do anything drastic (like, say, introducing the boy to the business end of a pair of scissors-which is actually more terrifying than it sounds), a warning, "Jin." comes from Ryoma-chan's mouth.

The boy, Jin-san, sneers, throwing one last murderous look in Seijūrō's direction before, miraculously, backing down. Then again, Kuroko isn't quite sure why she's so surprised anymore-when it comes to Ryoma-chan, it seems like she can do things that no one else can do as casually as she breathes air. It's an admirable trait, really, though Kuroko does wonder just how she did it, especially when Jin-san doesn't say anything else, instead turning around and striding towards the bench where a little group of objects sit, most likely belonging to the two tennis players. "You better do what a fucking say, brat, or you know what's going to happen."

The dangerous undertone sends a shiver down Kuroko's spine, and she watches silently as he leaves, most likely having never noticed her throughout the course of the encounter. She doesn't quite like the dark vibes she's receiving from the teen, and it seems that Seijūrō doesn't either, because as Ryoma-chan heads to the bench as well, he speaks up. "Ryoma. Explain."

"You have no right to tell me what to do," Ryoma-chan replies flippantly, slipping her racket into her tennis bag and slapping a hat back onto her head. Piercing golden eyes blink from under the shadow of the brim.

"He was hurting you."

"That's none of your business. That includes you, Tetsu."

At the way of address, both Seijūrō and Kuroko are taken aback, and in that split second of distraction, Ryoma-chan leaves, raising her hand in a lazy farewell. "Sorry for not showing up today, but since you came to look for me, I'm sure that Seirin won. I'll be there tomorrow."

"Ryoma-chan, you-"

"You cannot just-"

Ryoma-chan stops before glaring over her shoulder. "Let me say this again-this is _none_ of your business. Neither of you have any right to meddle in things that don't need meddling in the first place. If you keep pushing, I'm going to get angry."

The cousins can only watch as one of the most intriguing, frustrating people they've ever met walks away from them, bruises and cuts on far too young skin taunting them.

"How did this happen, Seijūrō?"

And Kuroko, even though she should be, isn't surprised when the absolute emperor himself, Akashi Seijūrō responds with a soft, "I don't know anymore, Tetsuya."

_It looks like only one person can bring that part of him out again._

* * *

The next day, rain pours down from the heavens, and all of the members of Seirin and Skutoku are reminded of the last time they faced off-along with the results.

Seirin and Shutoku walk out onto court next to each other, ignoring the ear-rupturing screaming and cheers erupting from the crowd. There are more people her to witness this prelim match than the other two games _combined_ , and the reason is more than obvious.

"Uwah! Seirin and Shutoku are here!"

"They're the teams to watch in the championship league!"

Kuroko glances to her side, where Midorima-kun and Takao walk, facing forwards. Her eyes trace their profiles, noting the slightest differences in their forms since they last met. She's no Coach Aida, but with her eyes ( _or what's left of them_ , a bitter part of her mind whispers), she can see that they've definitely become stronger.

The two teams separate and walk to opposite sides of the court where they have their last minute discussions. Kuroko looks up at her light from where she's sitting. "Kagami-kun."

"What?" He looks back at her, eyebrows raised in question.

"Did you see Midorima-kun's face when he came in?"

"Yeah," Kagami-kun grunts as he turns to look over at the Shutoku bench. "He seems like a different person now." Kuroko follows his gaze to where the green-haired Miracle sits, a sharp, focused look on his face as he listens to his captain.

"The members of the Generation of Miracles we've played until now were undefeated and intelligent," Kiyoshi-senpai states, bending down to tie his shoes. As his hands deftly loop the laces around, he continues with his statement. "They say some defeats are meaningful and losing makes you stronger. Do you understand what that means?" When Kagami-kun shifts just slightly in response, Kiyoshi-senpai nods, a deadly serious look on his face. "For living creatures, victory is life, and defeat means death. It's an extreme example, but humans retain that instinct. Those who know the terror of defeat hunger for victory."

Kuroko glances back at her opponent's bench, observing Midorima-kun. His fists are clenched, his muscles quaking just the slightest, the most intense, vengeful look she has ever seen on him gracing his face, and she can't help the small smile that pulls at her lips at the sight.

"They say that starving beasts are dangerous," Kuroko muses, ignoring the eyes that turn towards her as she keeps her gaze pinned on Midorima-kun, who has only successfully spoken to Takao without making someone angry.

"But they're not the only ones who've suffered a terrible loss." Everyone looks from Kuroko to Hyuuga-senpai, who stands up, tall and imperious. Everyone follows him, including Kuroko, staring at the bold number four emblazoned onto the back of his jersey.

"You're right," Kiyoshi-senpai states, a slight smirk on his face.

"One defeat is enough for me." Kuroko looks up at Kagami-kun, whose eyes are fixed on some point in the distance, and for once, no one reprimands him for it. "They're not the only ones..."

Kuroko instinctually reaches up to adjust her black wristband, a slight smile playing on her lips that no one notices as she finishes. "...who are starving."

As the two teams make their way onto the court to thunderous applause, Kagami-kun and Midorima-kun send a silent challenge to each other. As Kuroko watches, Takao comes up to her, a grim look replacing his usual cheery expression. "Sorry, Tetsu-chan, but he doesn't have time for you this round."

Kuroko merely nods, never looking away from her light and Midorima-kun. She's sure that at any moment, the name Takao called her will register in their minds. The last few times they had met, Takao had been careful not to call her that, since neither of them were ready to undergo the interrogation that would definitely go down upon hearing the familiar way he addresses her, but since the tension is rather thick...

_Five._

"Unlike last time, he's completely accepted Kagami as his rival."

_Four._

"The rest of us feel the same way."

_Three._

"That's good to hear, Takao," Kuroko speaks up for the first time, glancing at him out of the corners of her eyes.

_Two._

"But that's all the more reason that Seirin cannot lose."

_One._

"Good luck," Kuroko finishes plainly and bluntly.

_Zero._

"Wait a moment, _Tetsu-chan_?" Kagami-kun whirls around, breaking eye contact with Midorima-kun to stare at Kuroko and Takao incredulously. "What the hell was that?"

"Takao," Midorima-kun says frostily, eyes narrowed behind his glasses. "What is the meaning of this?"

"And Tetsuya! You called him _Takao_! You didn't even add a _-kun_!" Kagami-kun continues to splutter, even as Kuroko bows slightly towards Takao whose expression has changed from dead serious to mirthful. "When did you two get so close?"

As Kuroko makes her way towards the center of the basketball court where the two teams are supposed to line up, only Takao and two spectators standing hidden in the shadows at the top of the bleachers notice the mischievous glint in her otherwise blank eyes. "We've known each other since middle school. Of course we would be close."

Both teens splutter as Takao bursts into laughter and jogs after Kuroko.

And so begins the match between Shutoku and Seirin.


	9. Ninth: Fighters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko's get the moves, I swear. Also, Takao is a little shit (and we love him for it).
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

_"The second championship game of the Winter Cup preliminaries between Seirin High and Shutoku High will now begin. Bow!"_

"Thank you for the game!"

Kiyoshi finds himself facing off against Otsubo as the two teams wait for the tipoff. He grins at his old friend, who only returns the sentiment with a serious expression, so much like the Otsubo back in junior high.

"Jump, jump, Otsubo! Jump!" The cheers of the spectators in Shutoku's stands are loud and almost overbearing, but that doesn't bother Kiyoshi all too much.

"This is our first high school game," Kiyoshi states in a friendly tone, as if completely oblivious to the crackling tension in between Seirin and Shutoku, especially in between the two freshman aces. The tension only grew when Kuroko and the Hawk Eye user-Takao Kazunari, was it?-revealed the much closer relationship they shared than everyone had originally thought. Kiyoshi hadn't played the first match against Shutoku, so he's excited to play against one of the famed Generation of Miracles again.

Not to mention the fact that Otsubo is here.

"Yeah, and I won't go easy on you," Otsubo responds, is voice becoming more of a growl towards the end.

"Kagami-kun." Kiyoshi can hear Kuroko's quiet voice behind him as she slowly begins to stoke Kagami's fire. "Midorima-kun in looking for a one-on-one against you. You're the only one who can handle him. Can I ask you to handle Midorima-kun by yourself?"

Kagami scoffs, a smirk on his face as he replies with a confident, "Of course. I planned to do that all along."

There's something particularly special about Kuroko, and it's not just her incredible lack of presence or the fact that she's a girl playing on a boy's basketball team (though many still wonder just how she managed to do that). Ever since he first met her when she was stagnant. He still remembers her desperation back then. Even with the blank face of someone who's too afraid to show vulnerability (and yes, Kiyoshi is sure that this is it, though the reason isn't clear just yet), every shot that she tried to make into the basket was filled with the emotion that she refused to show on her face.

_"Just like I heard, you're not much good at anything besides passing."_

_Her blue eyes narrows just the slightest in indignation, her body tensing, as if bracing herself._

_"But, who cares? I like your basketball."_

_She catches the basketball he bounces across the room, turning to fully face him._

_"You're not wrong. You're truly not doing anything wrong. You're just inexperienced. That's all there is to it."_

_She continues to watch him as he rummages through his bag before pulling out some candy._

_"Do you want some?"_

_"No, thank you."_

_"Really?"_

_Her eyes stay locked on him before she finally says, "Kiyoshi Teppei. Iron Heart. One of the Crownless Generals. I remember you."_

_Kiyoshi pops a candy into his mouth. "Kuroko Tetsuya. The Phantom Man-or, should I say,_ Wo _man. One of the Generation of Miracles. I've played you-or rather, your team."_

_The teasing tone of his words doesn't escape her. "Do you want something?"_

_"You're interesting."_

_"Thank you."_

_"Basketball is about generalists. It's a sport for people who can do everything. Put loosely, you'll be okay with five scorers who can pass. That doesn't always work, which is why you have positions, and sometimes teams keep a specialist as their sixth man. But I've never seen a specialist as extreme as you. It's extraordinary to specialize so thoroughly in a single thing."_

_He holds his hands up in a silent bid for the ball. "I've heard Nebuya and Hayama talk about you. We don't really talk, those of us that are dubbed the 'Crownless Generals,' but we've definitely met before. You made quite the impression on them. And Hanamiya."_

_Kuroko's face doesn't flicker at the mention of Uncrowned Kings she had played against during middle school, instead tossing the ball to Kiyoshi, who begins to dribble it on the center circle._

_"And despite all that..." Kiyoshi moves in for a quick layup. "Aren't you the one who's assuming that this is your limit?" The ball hits the rim before bouncing onto the court, never touching the swaying net. Kiyoshi frowns for a second before shaking it off. "Maa, it's impressive that you can view yourself so objectively and play in that way. But you may be taking it too far."  
_

_Kuroko doesn't say anything, bending down to pick up the basketball. She lets it spin within her grip, the lines ghosting under her fingertips._

_"We're still high schoolers. It may not feel that way sometimes, but...believe in your own potential a little more." A moment of silence passes before he bursts into a bright grin. "Maa, I'm just talking to myself. See you next week, Kuroko-_ chan _."_

_"Excuse me."_

_"Hmm?" Kiyoshi comes to a stop, glancing back at the girl._

_Silently, she points at the ground, and when he looks down, confused, he sees that his foot landed just shy of his bag of candy. "Ah! Thank you so much! I just bought these!"_

_As he bends down to pick the candy up, Kuroko finally speaks up to add her own contribution. "I...it's not just that I assume that I have limits."_

_Kiyoshi straightens, the smile fading as he hears the heavy seriousness tingeing her voice. He hadn't really expected her to react all too much in response to his presence. He certainly hadn't expected her to do_ this _._

_"I truly do have limits, Kiyoshi-senpai."_

_"You used to have a style, right? Before misdirection."_

_"...yes."_

_"And no one understood how it worked."_

_"...yes."_

_"So...what happened?"_

_"...There are some walls that just can't be broken down."_

_"Really?" Kuroko looks up from the ball at her hands, lightly rotating her left wrist, and Kiyoshi knows that she heard the genuine shock and sadness that he feels at her words. "Then what motivates you? Why do you keep pushing? If, eventually, you're just going to fall because of that seemingly indestructible wall in your way, then why do you continue to move forward?"_

_Kuroko lowers her gaze, and her fingers spasm slightly around the ball-so slightly, in fact, that Kiyoshi would never have noticed if not for the fact that he had been actively observing her, in hopes of seeing_ something _. "For my...team."_

_"So you say, but the true worth of someone isn't determined by the lack of walls in one's path to greatness. It's determined by the amount of times you fall when you hit those walls, and the amount of times you force yourself to get up." Opening the bag in his hands and popping another candy into his mouth, Kiyoshi leans down to lightly pet the little dog who had been hanging around his feet the entire time. "Did I mention that your dog bears an extraordinarily similar resemblance to you?"_

_With one last pet, Kiyoshi straightens and leaves, raising his hand in a casual wave. "Think about what I said, Kuroko. If you don't break that wall standing in your way, you'll never change. And if you never change, you'll never improve."_

To this day, Kiyoshi still doesn't quite understand exactly which part of what he said to her made the basketball drop and hit the floor in a loud, resounding thump.

If he's being honest, Kuroko reminds him of a golden-eyed girl he had met long ago, in a hospital where all hope had seemed lost.

"Kagami..." Kiyoshi watches as Midorima's face darkens, eyes focused solely on Kagami. If he keeps looking at the fiery tiger, though...

The noise explodes as Otsubo and Kiyoshi jump for the ball. Their hands are so close together, the ball practically sandwiched in between their palms when it flies out and lands into Izuki's possession.

...he might lose the ball.

"Seirin's got the ball!"

The momentary victory is just that, because just as Izuki moves to dribble the ball down the court, Takao comes in, striking the ball out of the point guard's hands, an intense look on his face.

"Alright! Nice, Takao!"

Kimura immediately catches it, raising his arm to throw it towards Otsubo, who sprinted towards the basket the moment the tipoff ended.

"There's no one under the net!"

Just as Kimura's arm begins its arc to pass the ball, Kuroko appears before him, easily pushing the ball in the opposite direction of his movement.

"Nice work!" Riko calls from the bench, but is quickly silenced when Midorima is the one to pick the ball up.

The green-haired teen quickly gets into shooting position. However, the moment the ball leaves his fingertips, it's slapped out of the air by Kagami, who had jumped mere seconds after Midorima.

"What?"

"All right! Nice block!" Hyuuga shouts, his voice echoing throughout the court.

The ball bounces off court, and the whistle sounds. "Out of bounds! Orange ball!"

Kiyoshi glances at Kuroko, whose eyes are still locked on Kagami, whose locked in another stare-down with Midorima. He hasn't know Kuroko for a long time, but he can't help but feel like he can read her almost as well as Kagami can-maybe even better. The sentiment is probably due to the first real conversation he held with her.

 _She_ willingly gave up something that obviously no one else on the team knows. To him. To someone who was probably a stranger at that time.

It's no wonder that he feels a slight connection with her.

And for that reason, he can confidently say that there's a proud expression on Kuroko's face.

"Don't think that you can make any slow shots while I'm around," Kagami sneers to Midorima, who only sniffs in response and runs to his position.

Kimura takes the ball from out-of-bounds, throwing it in to Takao, who is immediately marked by Izuki. His eyes flicker back and forth before he takes off, ducking around Izuki's defense to pass the ball to Miyaji who's being marked by Hyuuga. Without glancing backwards, Miyaji tosses the ball to Otsubo, who's running up from the opposite side of the court. He catches it before tossing it to Midorima, who gets into position to shoot a three-pointer again.

"I told you!" Kagami roars, leaping up and smacking the ball out of Midorima's hand before it can even leave it. "It's no use!"

The ball goes out of bounds, and the whistle blows again.

Kiyoshi glances around at the players on court, all of them already breathing heavily and drenched in sweat. While the crowd and the other Seirin members are all cheering wildly, Riko and the starters all sport slightly uneasy, very wary looks on their faces.

"Just so you know, I have no new skills." Midorima is watching Kagami, a frigid expression on his face. "The only thing I've done until now is endurance training. You may be a bad match up for me, but don't underestimate me." His hand comes up to adjust the positioning of his glasses, and the air around the two aces turns darker, almost as if crackling with ozone. "My shots aren't so cheap that I need some kind of stopgap for you." Kiyoshi's eyes narrow at the implication of his words. Having not been a part of the first Seirin-Shutoku game, he doesn't really have a previous experience to compare the current strength of Midorima, but even he can tell that this Midorima is much... _stronger_ than before, for lack of a better word. The only incarnation of Midorima he has experience with was the match he had in junior high against Teiko, and Midorima's strength has grown so much since then, it's almost monstrous. "I'm sure you've noticed, but I can't take those shots endlessly. However, the same is true of your jumps. Therefore, there is only one thing for me to do. I simply need to keep shooting until you can't jump anymore, whether that's ten thousand or a hundred million shots."

Seirin is left in disbelief for a few second, unable to comprehend the ridiculously simple-minded conclusion that Midorima had come up with before a bright smirk pulls up at Kagami's lips, the intense fire roaring back to life within his eyes. "Bring it on."

"That's odd." Kiyoshi glances at Kuroko, the only one to have heard her murmur.

"What is?"

"I'm not quite sure how to put it, but Midorima-kun isn't acting like himself." Her eyes narrow just slightly on Midorima's profile, a calculating look on her face.

The entire quarter continues onward in this fashion, with the lightning quick changes in possession of the ball and the battle of endurance between the aces of Seirin and Shutoku.

By the second quarter, the score is 23-16 in Seirin's favor, and while the crowd and the benched players all look pumped and excited, the other members of Seirin are anything but.

 _What are they thinking?_ Kiyoshi scans the court, especially the faces of Shutoku's players. _Why do I feel so uneasy?_

"What's wrong? Exhausted so soon? In that case, I'm disappointed." Midorima's voice is far too cultured and smooth to create a fully effective taunt, but that doesn't stop Kagami from responding with a fired up retort.

"Of course not! Bring it on!"

Kiyoshi's eyes narrow, even as the game begins again. He takes in the difference in appearances. While both players are sweating Midorima is notably far less exhausted, with his breathing not as harsh as Kagami, skin looking like he took a light bath instead of walked in a hurricane, unlike Kagami.

Glancing around, he notices that the rest of his teammates are in similar positions-either exhausted due to overexertion or exhausted due to _under-exertion_. The latter applies mainly to Kuroko, whose face, though blank, somehow manages to convey her extreme annoyance in regards to the boy who has stuck to her like glue to a piece of paper.

"It's still only the second quarter," Takao states, voice carrying over the din. "What's wrong, Tet-su-chan?" The bright, teasing smile tinged with the issued challenge causes Kagami to roar unintelligibly next to Midorima with anger.

Kiyoshi understands more than anyone would think about just how valuable Kuroko is. Especially during the Interhigh, when Seirin was without Kiyoshi. It's not as if he means to brag, but they all _know_ that without Kiyoshi, Seirin's offensive and defensive power drops drastically. The ridiculous strength of the freshmen duo are one of the only things that allowed Seirin to survive that long in the summer tournament.

But put Takao in, and the entire situation shifts. Takao sees the entire court. His hawk Eye is stronger than even Izuki's Eagle Eye. From what Kiyoshi had heard of the last Shutoku game, the only reason they were able to win last time was because Kuroko was able to think fast on her feet, which enabled her to avoid it using an out-of-the-box trick of misdirection. But this time...

Kuroko glances around before quickly making a break down the three-point line. Takao easily catches up with her, blocking her way. "You're not going _anywhere_. That won't work anymore. Sorry." The last word comes out in a light tune, mocking and mirthful.

Kuroko's misdirection can only be used for a limited amount of time. Kiyoshi still remembers what Hanamiya had said, when they met just yesterday.

 _"By the way, that little girl on your_ 'team _.' Kuroko Tetsuya, was it? You might want to watch out for her..."_

_"What? What do you mean?"_

_"Basketball is a dangerous sport...take your eyes off of her for one second...and something bad might happen."_

It was almost a jab at Kuroko's basketball style-well, not almost. It most definitely _was_. Just as much as misdirection is a weapon in Kuroko's arsenal, it's also a _weakness_.

Particularly against Shutoku, a team that has already faced Seirin. The effectiveness of her misdirection has dropped significantly.

Hyuuga shifts slightly on his feet before breaking free of his mark. Izuki, catching sight of the movement, quickly backs up and tosses it towards Hyuuga. Just as the Seirin captain is about to catch it, his mark, Miyaji, intercepts, hitting it towards Midorima, who grabs onto it.

"Crap!"

"Kagami!" Kiyoshi shouts, propelling the red-headed Seirin player to leap up, a roar escaping his lips.

"No you don't!"

Seirin watches in horror as Kagami jumps to block, but Midorima hasn't even left the ground yet. As Kagami is still airborne, Midorima dribbles around Kagami and settles into his shooting position.

"A fake?" Hyuuga gasps behind a smug-looking Miyaji.

The moment Kagami lands, he leaps back into the air, practically throwing himself at Midorima. "I'm not finished yet!"

Kiyoshi's knee throbs at the sight of Kagami's overexertion.

The ball leaves Midorima's hand just a second after Kagami's hand reaches the place where it used to be.

"Midorima was a second faster!"

All activity stops as everyone watches the high arc of the basketball heading towards the basket, waiting on bated breath.

"He finally missed!"

_Will it go in?_

The ball comes soaring back, lightly grazing the room before slamming into the floor.

"What?" Otsubo's voice is full of incredulity.

"He missed?"

 _Unbelievable_... Kiyoshi smiles, even as he wipes at the sweat pouring down his face. _Kagami has a ridiculous amount of leg strength._

"The ball's still in play!"

"Run!"

Before anyone can even begin moving, a pale hand attached to a wrist wrapped in a black band grabs the ball from the air.

"Wha...what?"

Kuroko lands on the ground, a determined look emblazoned across her face. A quick glance around shows that this has been a turning point in the game. First, Midorima, despite having been free, misses a three-pointer due to Kagami, whose legs should already be burnt out. Second, Kuroko is the one who gets the rebound while everyone else is frozen in shock. Third, the only conclusion for this is due to the fact that Kuroko has placed an inordinate amount of trust into Kagami's capabilities in order to believe that Midorima's shot would miss.

It's a psychological attack at its finest.

She raises her arm and passes it across court. The ball cuts through the still frozen players, at a speed that could rival even Aomine in the ZONE. Izuki catches it, easily making a basket.

The buzzer sounds.

"He made the shot!"

"Who made the pass?"

"That was incredibly fast!"

As the crowd continues to talk about the pass, Seirin focuses on the play in and of itself. From his teammates' reactions, Kiyoshi can safely assume that Midorima's style used to be three-pointers, and three-pointers only. That means that now that he's mixing in fakes and other techniques...things will get worse and worse for Kagami.

The game continues, and with Midorima's introduction of his new arsenal at the most opportune of times, Seirin has begun to hesitate, especially when Midorima and Kagami face off once more, the ball gripped in Midorima's taped grip. When Kagami goes to jump, Midorima easily bypasses him. Kagami lands before taking another jump, and Kiyoshi's knee throbs again. This time, Kagami won't be able to reach in time.

Eyes narrowing, Kioyshi rushes in front of the green-haired teen, bending his knees before leaping up, his hand shooting up. "You're not making this shot!"

Midorima stays in his position a moment too long, and Kiyoshi's eyes widen as he realizes. _We fell right into their trap!_

"We've been waiting for this to happen!" Takao crows victoriously, coming up near the group of three in a deadlock. Midorima pulls the ball back and passes it to Takao, who catches it solidly.

And in that moment, everyone can see that Midorima is no longer the same person he was during the Interigh.

Takao, Otsubo, and Miyaji race down the court, easily bypassing a somewhat disoriented Izuki. Hyuuga and Kuroko stand in front of the basket, waiting for them to come.

"It's two on three!"

"There are fewer defenders!"

"They're completely outnumbered!"

Takao passes the ball to Miyaji, who is immediately marked by Kuroko. Miyaji then tosses it to Otsubo, who, despite being guarded by Hyuuga, makes a basket.

The buzzer sounds, and the crowd's cheers only grow louder. Seirin still looks somewhat shocked at the fact that Midorima actually _passed_ to his teammate, Kagami and Kuroko seeming to be the ones most affected. Kuroko's eyes are locked on Midorima, who is currently being held in a headlock by a laughing Takao. Kiyoshi walks up to Kagami, whose teeth are gritted in frustration. "This is no joke, huh, Kagami?"

Kiyoshi glances back at Midorima. _He acted like he was doing it for himself, but he was shooting for his team. This must be the reason for Kuroko's uneasiness._

"Midorima has never relied on his teammates before," Hyuuga states, grimly surveying the court. "That's how we found openings and defeated him with teamwork. But now it's the opposite. Midorima has stopped fighting alone. Shutoku is a true team. They're more than formidable."

"I won't deny that this situation is difficult." Seirin's starters all turn to look at Kiyoshi, whose easy smile is back in place. "We're just in a bit of a pinch, though. It's not over. Let's have some fun."

Hyuuga sighs, rolling his eyes, though he can't fight the slight smile that's pulling at everyone's lips (even Kuroko's) at Kiyoshi's words. "Ah, I know."

"What are we going to do, though?" Izuki speaks up.

"I can't think of any way to stop Shutoku." Both of them turn towards Kiyoshi.

He stares solemnly at both of them before his blunt statement causes Hyuuga to slap him over the head. "We'll come up with something."

"You don't have any ideas?"

Kiyoshi winces, raising his hand to rub the place Hyuuga hit. "That hurt...Maa, we could start by benching Kuroko."

Kuroko blinks up at Kiyoshi's smile, slight disbelief reflected in her eyes. "What?"

"If your misdirection doesn't work, you'll only hold us back. You're doing your best, but you're more of a hindrance. There's really no reason for you to be on court."

With every word that comes out of Kiyoshi's mouth, Kuroko turns paler and paler, even as her expression stays as blank as normal. By the time Kiyoshi has finishes speaking, she looks like a walking corpse. The gloomy atmosphere surrounding her only further emphasizes the comparison.

"Maa, maa," Izuki says as comfortingly as possible, lightly patting her shoulder, "Let it be, newbie."

"Izuki, shut up."

Kiyoshi doesn't lose his smile as the buzzer sounds-this time, for a substitution. Even though he feels slightly (just slightly) bad for picking on Kuroko, it seems like the tension and frustration from earlier has abated just slightly. At the same time...

"It looks like the coach seems to be thinking the same thing."

Kuroko slowly trudges off court, her shoulder slumped slightly. When she reaches Mitobe, she raises a hand and lightly high-fives him before moving to the bench. When she sits down, the other players talk to her for a moment before a slight smile plays across her lips and she seems to shake off Kiyoshi's teasing words from earlier.

"It's a good thing she knew that you were joking," Hyuuga grumbles from beside Kiyoshi, giving the still-smiling teen the stink-eye.

"Maa, maa, Kuroko's not that weak!"

"That's not the point, idiot!"

Once Mitobe enters the little group, Kiyoshi takes direction. "We have to stop Midorima. Kagami and I will continue to double-team him."

"But-! I can handle him myself!"

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, but we have no choice now that he's faking and passing. If you can't jump anymore, we really will be finished."

"That'll make it harder for us," Izuki murmurs. "Mitobe can't handle the inside alone."

Hyuuga sighs, and attention turns towards him as he rubs the back of his head. "In that case, there's only one thing to do."

When the game begins again, Kiyoshi and Kagami immediately get to doing what they had agreed on beforehand. Every move that Midorima makes, the two follow him, making sure to block off any possible route.

Miyaji has the ball, currently being marked by Hyuuga. With a quick feint, he breaks past Hyuuga's defense, rushing past the rest of Seirin to make a layup.

Kiyoshi scowls, wiping at the sweat on his forehead. Midorima may be stopped, but Shutoku isn't comprised of _just_ Midorima. After all, there's still a reason as to just _why_ Shutoku was considered one of the "Three Kings of Tokyo," even before one of the Generation of Miracles joined the team. Otsubo, Miyaji, Kimura, and Takao are all dangerous in their own ways, all of which is only emphasized by Midorima's presence

"If we can't stop them..." Hyuuga growls, "...we just have to score more than them! Let's go!"

Seirin runs towards the opposite end of the court where Shutoku waits for them, the crowd screaming all the while around them. Izuki passes the ball in his possession towards Hyuuga, who catches it and throws it to Kiyoshi. The entire exchange happens in the blink of an eye.

"No you don't!" Miyaji roars, leaping up into the air, a wild expression on his face. "I'll kill you!"

As Kiyoshi reaches the peak of his jump, he pulls one of his hands away from the ball, which he had previously been holding in two. Even as Miyaji reaches forward to slam the ball away, Kiyoshi pulls back the single hand holding onto the ball, easily dodging Miyaji's attempt. The horrorstruck look on the blonde's face as he realizes what just happens makes Kiyoshi smile brightly.

Maybe Hanamiya _is_ rubbing off on him (just a little).

Kiyoshi tosses the ball over his shoulder to wear Mitobe is waiting, where the silent teen catches it and makes a dunk.

The game continues, with with Izuki being marked by Takao this time. The Seirin point guard passes it to Kiyoshi, who's being guarded by Otsubo. Kiyoshi quickly glances around before making a quick decision, tossing it to Hyuuga just as Mitobe screens the captain's mark, Miyaji. Hyuuga immediately falls into position and makes a clean three.

"This offensive power..." Takao breathes, brow furrowed as he tries to puzzle the phenomenon out. "Is _this_ the new Seirin?"

"No, not quite." Takao glances back at Otsubo, who looks just as worn out as he does.

"What?"

"It'd be more accurate to say that they're back."

"Back?" Takao glances back at the Seirin players. All of them except for Kagami were starters the year before.

"Seirin's style is offensive team basketball. It was even faster last year with Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi and Hyuuga, the stars of the inside and outside. Scoring with the speed and passing of all five players...it's a run-and-gun speed basketball. This is their true form."

Kiyoshi's smile widens from his spot on the court. It's not that he doesn't like the new members, it's far from that. With the addition of the first years, Kagami and Kuroko especially, Seirin has grown exponentially. But he still has a sense of pride. As the creator and founder of Seirin's basketball club, there's no doubt that he would feel a bit lost of Seirin's style were to change so very quickly.

After all, high-paced point wars are Seirin's specialty.

Izuki attempts to make a free throw. The ball bounces off the rim, and Otsubo roars to life, jumping up and claiming the rebound before Kiyoshi can even reach it. _Damn it!_

Otsubo immediately throws the ball to an open Midorima standing nearby, and the world feels like its been submerged underwater for a single moment as Midorima slowly winds up before shooting the ball all the way across the court-more than half of the court's distance is covered is it arcs straight towards the hoop. The ball doesn't touch the rim as it goes through the basket, violently disrupting the net at the same time.

"it's Midorima's super-long three pointer!"

The crowd erupts into cheers once more as the buzzer sounds, the numbers changing.

"How did he make that?"

Kagami grits his teeth, frustrated at being unable to stop Midorima.

"He's not human!"

"Stop daydreaming." Midorima's stiff voice causes Kagami to turn around and face him. "You can't lose focus for even a moment if you want to stop me."

"All right!" a grinning Kimura laughs as he violently slaps Midorima on the back.

The slap is quickly followed by an even harder one from Miyaji, who shouts, "Nice, Midorima!"

Kimura manages to sneak in another shot before Midorima quickly walks away (read: flees the scene), angrily adjusting his glasses while muttering under his breath.

"Don't let it get to you, Kagami!"

Hyuuga and Kiyoshi both smirk as they slap Kagami across the chest and the back respectively, having decided to take a leaf out of Midorima's teammates' book.

"If they score, we'll score ourselves."

"Let's score!" Kiyoshi parrots, his smile growing impossibly wider as he slaps Kagami's back, followed by a hit to the chest from Hyuuga, and the cycle repeats.

For all of Hyuuga's self-proclaimed hatred of Kiyoshi, the two sure are in sync most, if not all, the time.

Hyuuga eventually pulls back, the teasing smirk from earlier disappearing into a firm expression that brokers no arguments as he shouts, "All right!"

"Let's go!" the two teams utter the battle cry in unison.

By the time the second half ends, most of the players on court look dead exhausted, Kagami especially. Having pulled super jump after super jump out, sometimes consecutively, it's no wonder that the first year's legs are trembling like a new born baby's. Kiyoshi, whose observational and analytical skills don't even begin to reach the level of Riko's or Kuroko's, can tell that the teen is almost ready to collapse at this point.

"Uwah, it's already over?"

"I can't wait!"

"I hope the second half starts soon!"

"Listen up," Hyuuga orders from his position in front of the bench. "Honestly speaking, stopping Shutoku is really difficult for us right now. Our only choice is to score more than they do."

The break passes quickly with the players on both sides squeezing in as much rest as possible. Once it becomes time to step back on court, Hyuuga gives an encouraging order of, "Let's go!"

The score is 45-43 in Seirin's favor. It hasn't changed since the start of the third quarter, and even with Kiyoshi, things continue to get harder.

Seirin is made far too aware of that fact when Kagami and Kiyoshi fail at blocking Midorima's pass to Takao again. The Hawk Eye user immediately dribbles to the basket, a smug grin on his face.

"They're trapped!"

"Shutoku's sure to take this!"

"It's four on three!"

Just as Izuki manages to break free from his mark and run towards Takao, the mischievous teen widens his smirk, if that's even possible, and laughs, "Just kidding!"

He brings his hands down in between his legs as he leaps up, bouncing the basketball behind him and straight into an approaching Midorima's clutch. While the unexpected technique in and of itself is enough of a cause for surprise and slight panic, what really makes Kiyoshi feel those two things acutely is the fact that Midorima's face was frozen in the same expression that the rest of Seirin sports even as he caught the ball.

That means that even without prior warning, the green-haired teen had been able to catch the basketball.

"Don't miss," Takao sings mockingly, even as Midorima recovers from his shock and falls into position.

"Quiet, fool," Midorima replies as the ball rolls off his fingertips into a high arc, neither Kagami nor Kiyoshi able to get close enough to jump for it.

The ball lands perfectly in the basket, and the buzzer sounds as the score turns from 45-43 in Seirin's favor to 45-46 in Shutoku's favor.

"Yeah, Midorima!"

"Shutoku takes the lead at the top of the second half!"

"Don't falter!" Hyuuga shouts as the ball is thrown in and he catches it. "Let's go!"

He passes it to Izuki, who dribbles it towards the opposite side.

"Oh, shut up," Miyaji sneers, falling into a defensive position. "You're making me cry!"

Izuki throws it back to Hyuuga, but the pass is intercepted by Miyaji, who snarls, "Our team is more than just Midorima! Don't underestimate us!"

He throws the basketball forward, directly at a running Kimura, who catches it and makes a quick basket.

"Shutoku counters!"

_It's as if they know our movements..._

They probably do.

"The first years can't steal all our thunder! But you should've done something more exciting, like a dunk!"

"Shut up!" Kimura shouts back at Miyaji, a scowl pulling at his face. "Not everyone can do that!"

The game continues on, and Shutoku refuses to let Seirin breathe for even a minute. Combining Midorima's threes, the newfound team camaraderie, and the upperclassmen's reminder to both the players and the spectators that Shutoku was a champion even before Midorima arrived, by the time only a minute is left in the third quarter, the score is 68-76 with Shutoku in the lead.

"Kagami." The moment time-out is called, Kiyoshi makes his way towards the boy in question, eyes fixed on the twitching muscles in his calves. It's obvious to anyone looking that Kagami's legs have reached their limit.

Even if no one is looking, they would know with the words that come out of a smug-sounding Midorima's mouth. "You seem to be at your limit."

Kagami snarls, stalking towards the Shutoku ace. "What did you say?"

He would be a lot more intimidating if his legs are actually steady instead of violently twitching and jerking the way they are now.

The game continues on, staying stagnant for the rest of the playing time. Kiyoshi marvels, slightly awed at the fact that even when double teamed, Midorima still has the ridiculous power, stamina, and mental fortitude to push forwards. He doesn't know much about this boy, but from what he remembers of him from that one match in junior high and from what he has heard from Seirin, Midorima is a proud boy. His play style is for himself, and himself alone.

And even though it's the reason as to why they're having so much trouble against Shutoku, Kiyoshi can't help but feel...happy.

After all, basketball is a team sport.

The buzzer sounds again, and this time, Kuroko stands up. All the players on court watch warily as she steps onto the court, a steely look in her eyes as she adjusts her black wristband-an automatic reaction, Kiyoshi notices, strangely instinctual for someone who seems to follow logic more than anything else.

"She's finally coming off the bench," Midorima concludes, eyes narrowed on Kuroko's slender frame.

"Please," Tsuchida mumbles under his breath, clenched fists on his lap shaking just slightly.

"Change the flow of this game!" Koganei continues, staring intently at the scoreboard, frozen in that unfavorable state of point distribution.

Takao walks up to her, a smirk on his face. "Even if it's you, Tetsu-chan, we won't go easy on you. _I_ won't go easy on you. Besides, _that_ and _this_ game are different stories. No matter what, you of all people know that I can't take basketball lightly. We've been waiting for you, Kuroko Tetsuya."

Kuroko brushes past him, eyes focused on her partner, but Takao seems to understand her unspoken message because he backs off, his smirk widening.

"Kuroko, are you read yet?" Hyuuga asks as he, Kagami, and Izuki come up to meet her.

"Hai," she answers, confirming with a single nod.

"Of course she is," Kagami barks, reaching out to push Kuroko forward. She bounces forward, arms stuck out to find purchase on the floor and regain her balance. "You're sure you can scare them, right?"

She glances back at him, shocking everyone as a ghost of a smile appears on her face. "Hai, of course."

"They're putting her in now?" Miyaji asks, incredulous. "I thought her mis-whatever thing doesn't work anymore."

"They're not that desperate, are they?" Kimura questions, though even he sounds a little doubtful about his theory.

"If anything, it's the opposite." The two starts before glancing over at Midorima, whose pinched face and wary expression tells them more than words ever would. "She wouldn't be coming onto the court now without something up her sleeve. She must have something."

The buzzer sounds again with only forty-three seconds of the third quarter remaining. Kiyoshi can practically hear the thoughts of the people around him-well, those who aren't privy to the knowledge of Seirin's secrets.

_What's going on?_

_Why'd they do that?_

_What's one little girl going to do?_

_Woah, what the hell, there's a girl here? When the heck did she show up?_

His smile is back in place as the game continues.

It looks like they'll all be pleasantly (or maybe for some, the complete opposite) surprised.

Hyuuga throws the ball in to Izuki, who is immediately set upon by Miyaji. Takao comes to cover Kuroko again, and she doesn't bother to attempt to disappear. Izuki dribbles around, looking for an opening, and when he doesn't see one, he turns to pass the ball back towards Hyuuga. The Seirin captain and Kimura both rush for the errant basketball at the same time, but Hyuuga reaches it first. He grabs hold of it and throws a strong pass straight at Kiyoshi, who's being closely tailed by Otsubo. Kiyoshi catches it before glancing around, eyes zeroing on Takao and, as a result, Kuroko, who stands just a little bit behind her mark.

The moment their eyes meet, she bursts into motion, running straight towards Midorima. Takao goes to follow her when Kagami suddenly appears in front of him, practically dwarfing Takao's smaller frame in a solid screen.

Shutoku watches in disbelief as Kuroko doesn't even bother to change direction, heading directly towards Midorima, whose running up to switch marks with Takao.

Kiyoshi's smile widens as he throws the ball towards her with a shout of, "Kuroko!"

Instead of passing it the way Shutoku thought she would, she raises her hand and catches it solidly in both hands, but due to the fact that Kiyoshi's eyes are directly on her, he's the only one, other than Midorima who's standing right in front of her, to notice her slight flinch as her left hand seizes up.

Kiyoshi's eyes narrow.

_"There are some walls that just can't be broken down."_

Just what happened to her?

"This doesn't look good!" Miyaji shouts, and Kiyoshi is grateful for the fact that the blonde doesn't seem to understand Kuroko's misdirection all too well as his words begin to stir unease among his teammates. "Watch out, Midorima!"

"Sorry, but it's not like that," Kagami stokes the fire, and odd mix of arrogance and pride for his partner glowing on his face. "It's not really about speed or skill. Only Kuroko can pull off..."

She slowly brings her right arm down, the ball still clutched firmly in her small hand. Not even in the blink of an eye, she's blown past Midorima, dribbling the ball down the court casually, as if she hasn't just passed a member of the Generation of Miracles without even giving him anytime to move.

"...the Vanishing Drive!"

"What?"

Otsubo comes up in an attempt to block Kuroko, who immediately passes it to a now free Kiyoshi, who leaps up and slams the ball into the basket, enjoying the feel of the metal rim against his palm once again.

The whistle blows, and the crowd grows wild.

"He made it!"

"That was amazing, Kuroko!" one of the benched Seirin players shouts.

As Kiyoshi passes by Kuroko, hand clamping down onto her shoulder, he bends down just enough for his whisper to reach her sharp ears. "I never did notice this, but you never really do use your left hand."

When she freezes for just a second, Kiyoshi knows that he's hit something.

_And he'll figure it out if it's the last thing he'll ever do._

Because, really. There's something particularly special about Kuroko.

"How did she get past Midorima so easily?"

"That bastard!" Kimura screams as he grabs the ball and goes for a basket.

"Keep your head, Kimura!" Otsubo shouts, but the order falls on death ears as Kimura's wrist flicks and the ball hits the rim of the basket, bouncing off.

Before Otsubo can grab the rebound, Izuki snatches it out of the air, throwing it in no particular direction. "Kuroko!"

His blind trust pays off as she grabs it.

"No, you don't!" Takao screams, rushing straight towards her, the determined and almost wildly desperate look in his eyes fueling his actions. "You won't get past-!"

She disappears before he even finishes his sentence, appearing behind him as she dribbles towards the basket. Miyaji rushes up to block her again, but she quickly passes the basketball across the court, where Hyuuga catches it. He quickly makes a a three-pointer, and the Seirin bench roars to life.

The score changes to 73-76 in Shutoku's favor with just six seconds left in the third quarter.

Miyaji throws the ball in, shouting, "Let's keep clam!"

Kuroko intercepts the throw before Takao can grab it, and their shocked faces only further cement the fact that Kuroko's new technique has done more than its face value. _Psychological warfare...I feel like Kuroko would be_ very _good at that._

She ducks around Takao's frozen form, passing it to Hyuuga, who once again lines up to make a three-pointer. The ball goes in, just as the buzzer sounds.

It looks like they'll be playing on even ground in the fourth quarter.

"We're tied!"

"All right!"

"Good job!" Kiyoshi slings an arm around Kuroko's shoulder, raising his fist into the air.

"We jumped up eight points since Kuroko went in!"

"Seirin's tied!"

Kiyoshi feels Kuroko turn next to him, and he surreptitiously follows her gaze to where it is locked on Midorima, who still looks shocked and at a loss, as if bewildered by the entire thing. His eyes narrow at the expression on the green-haired Miracle's face. That isn't the look of someone who's never seen something (that something being Kuroko in an somewhat offensive position-although, could it really be called a "position?"). No, that's the face of someone who never expected to see something... _again._

_"You used to have a style, right? Before misdirection."_

_"...yes."_

_"And no one understood how it worked."_

_"...yes."_

Kiyoshi hadn't really expected the rumor he'd heard a while back to be true, but if Kuroko did have an old style...

Just what made her stop?

"We're back where we started." Kuroko's voice breaks through Kiyoshi's thoughts, and he watches as Midorima raises his hand, his face smoothing over.

His fingers lightly adjust his glasses as he smirks and replies, "Interesting."

During the break, the players all sit on the benches while the others stand up, letting them rest for as long as they need to. Kiyoshi sits next to Kagami, who, despite having an ice pack on the back of his neck, is still sweating buckets as harsh, grating breathing leaves his mouth. _He's pretty tired. He's been on Midorima this whole time. It's no wonder._

"Kagami, are you okay?" It seems that Izuki has also noticed and isn't going to keep quiet on this.

"I'm totally fine," Kagami answers, a tired smile spreading across his face. "Besides, I can't give up before him."

Kiyoshi is the only one watching Kuroko, so once again, he's the only one to notice when the barest of frowns slips across her façade.

The buzzer sounds when break is over, and Hyuuga pushes up off the bench. "Okay, let's go! We'll go hard in the remaining ten minutes! Seirin, fight!"

Their hands are raised as the team responds, "Yeah!"

As the players get into position, Midorima and Kagami get into another stare-down as Kagami does s few squats to stretch his muscles, which have stiffened from not being used during the break.

"Nice, he's worked up, too," Takao sings as he walks up to Kuroko, who watches him with her smooth, blank face. "We can't let him outdo us, can we, Tetsu-chan?"

"You!" an enraged Kagami shouts, the first to break away from his deadlock with Midorima. "Stop referring to Tetsuya in such a familiar way!"

Both Takao and Kuroko ignore him as they stare at each other, and Kagami rages at that (rather ironically). He tilts his head to the side, eyes slitting as he continues to stare at her. "I'll stop you even if I have to cling to you."

"Oi!"

"I can't have you beating me so easily," Kuroko replies calmly.

The challenge in her voice is only noted by four other people.

A whistle blows as the fourth quarter starts. Kiyoshi has possession of the ball, and he runs down the court, passing it to Kagami.

"Seirin's playing their run-and-gun style!"

Kagami passes the ball to Izuki, who leads the head of the pack. Just as Izuki reaches the three-point line, he passes it to his right, straight towards Hyuuga.

"Gotcha!" Miyaji calls, rushing forwards to intercept the ball.

The knowing glint in his eyes would normally make Seirin uneasy, but...

These aren't normal circumstances.

"Oh, crap!" Takao exclaims when he finds Kuroko gone, and before Miyaji can even graze the ball with a single fingertip, Kuroko redirects the path of the ball in the opposite direction of where he's facing, directly into Kagami's hand.

"Kagami! Go!"

Kagami bends his knees before springing into the air, quickly followed by Kimura and Otsubo.

"Two of them?"

"Kagami, careful!"

Even against two of them, Kagami manages to slam the ball into the basket.

"What?"

"All right!"

"He dunked through two of them!"

"The ball curved suddenly before it went in!"

"Seirin's magic passes are back!"

"They're not easily stopped!"

"Nice shot." Kiyoshi comes up behind Kagami and pats him on the shoulder, easy smile fixed in place once more.

"You're lucky it wen in!" Hyuuga follows, pulling his fist back and punching the back of Kagami's head (though that probably hurt Hyuuga more than it did Kagami).

"You seem to have forgotten something very important."

Kiyoshi glances towards where Kuroko stands. Her eyes are fixed on Kagami, but her words are directed towards Takao, who stands just behind her.

"Huh? What did you say?"

"I may have a new technique, but...don't think that I've abandoned my old ones."

Takao reels back as Kuroko lightly jogs away, and even Kiyoshi is somewhat affected by her words. It almost feels as if...she's talking about something other than basketball techniques.

The game continues onwards with Shutoku in possession of the ball. Izuki marks Takao as he dribbles down the court. Once again, Takao manages to evade Izuki, tossing the ball towards Miyaji, who dribbles the ball for a little while before passing it behind him, where Midorima picks it up.

This time, though, Midorima is anything but calm and collected. "Don't get ahead of yourselves."

Kiyoshi and Kagami both leap a second too late. The ball leaves Midorima's hands and sinks into the hoop.

_Just how many of these shots has he already made?_

"Amazing, Shin-chan!" Takao exclaims. "Are you okay? You must be approaching your limit."

"Fool. There's no way I wouldn't know exactly how many shots I can take." A slight smirk curls his lips as a near feral look enters his eyes. "I surpassed my limit long ago."

Takao blinks before laughing, shaking his head. "What're you talking about? What a man."

"Seirin! Seirin! Seirin! Seirin!"

"I thought that might be it," Hyuuga shouts as he catches the bounce pass directed his way. "But we're not here to lose!"

Following Midorima's three-pointer, Hyuuga makes his own.

"Shutoku! Shutoku! Shutoku! Shutoku!"

"Neither are we!" Takao snarls, coming to a stop as Hyuuga guards him. Ducking around the captain, Takao makes a layup.

The final quarter continues in this fashion with the lightning quick back and forth between the two teams. Seirin has the ball, Shutoku steals it, Seirin takes it back. It's a constant tug-of-war with the occasional basket that changes the scoreboard.

Thirty seconds left in the game, and the score is 103-102 in Seirin's favor.

Otsubo makes another dunk, changing the score to 103-104 in Shutoku's favor.

Games like these, the ones in which neither team refuses to give any ground, refuses to give up-these are the kinds of games that are rarely ever seen, these are the kinds of games that no one ever wants to stop.

But eventually, it has to.

Izuki attempts to dribble around Otsubo, whose arm shoots out and slams the ball out of Izuki's possession and towards the out-of-bounds.

At the last second, Kuroko leaps for the ball, grabbing it before it can bounce off court and become Shutoku's ball.

"You're not going anywhere!" Takao shouts, rushing straight towards Kuroko.

The steely glint is back in her eyes as she responds with a bland, "Then I'll force my way through."

Kiyoshi assumes that she means to use her Vanishing Drive, but the moment she lands, something... _different_ happens. She doesn't disappear from sight.

Her petite frame is still very clearly in view, and the Shutoku players running towards her are obviously thinking of taking advantage of what they presume to be a moment of weakness. Takao and the Seirin players seem to be the only ones to realize what her pause really is-a strategic moment during which her opponents play themselves right into the palms of her hands.

Her eyes flash for a single moment, and before anyone can make another move, she's moving.

It's not that she's particularly fast. Not to the point that it's impossible to stop her. But the problem isn't that it's impossible. It's just that they, in this moment, _cannot._

She easily cuts around Takao, and even though he should have prior knowledge of what would happen, the moment he turns , the sound of a sickening crack is heard, and his eyes widen as he crumples to the ground.

Within the next few moments, Kuroko blows past the rest of Shutoku, and what's so amazing about that is that there's absolutely nothing _special_ about it. Her speed is just slightly above average at best-compared to other members of the Generation of Miracles or to Kagami, she isn't doing anything particularly special.

Yet somehow, she's managed to bypass every single player on Shutoku.

Leaving fallen players behind her, Kuroko dribbles up to Kiyoshi, calmly and casually handing him the ball, as if she hasn't just done something that has left all the players on court utterly speechless.

"You're right," she murmurs softly, and even though he's probably the most shocked of all of them, a wide grin splits his face at her words.

"It's beautiful, your basketball. I like it."

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" Takao chants under his breath, pushing himself up off the ground while grimacing just slightly before whirling around to give chase after Kuroko.

Too late.

Just as he goes to dunk, Kiyoshi feels a sharp pain in his knees. His grin turns into a grimace, but he pushes through it, forcing himself off the ground and into the air. Just as the ball is about to enter the basket, another hand appears just in front of the ball-Midorima.

"No way, Iron Heart!" the green-haired Miracle declares, hand just about to slap the ball away.

In a last second attempt, Kiyoshi twists his hand and pulls back slightly, giving just enough to room to weakly toss the ball towards the basket. The tip of Midorima's finger just barely grazes the underside, and as a result of the maneuver, Midorima's body slams into Kiyoshi.

The referee, catching the accidental foul, blows his whistle, just as the ball bounces off the rim, never touching the net. "Defense, pushing! Shutoku Number Six! Free throw, two shots!"

Midorima whirls around, face pulled back into a frustrated snarl.

With two seconds left on the clock and a score of 103-104 with Shutoku in the lead, the results of the game come down to these two free throws.

"Don't worry, Midorima," Kimura murmurs, lightly patting Midorima's shoulder.

"it was actually a nice play," Kimura contributes generously. "If you hadn't done that, he would've made it for sure."

"We're still hanging by a thread," Kimura states grimly, glancing at the scoreboard. "All we can do now is pray."

"Idiot, that's not all we can do," Miyaji growls, glaring at his teammate.

"If he makes these shots, we have to accept that it's over," Takao murmurs, wiping the sweat off of his chin using the top of his jersey. "Even if he misses, if we don't get the rebound..."

"There's no way that he isn't feeling the pressure right now," Otsubo concludes, the eyes of his team turning towards him. "Before you start praying, give it your all! We _need_ to get that rebound!"

"Yeah!"

Kiyoshi tries his hardest to keep the smile on his face, even though it looks more like a pained grimace than a smile. He can feel three worried gazes on him-his legs, specifically.

"Screen them out," Hyuuga orders. "Don't let them get the ball!"

Izuki glances at Kiyoshi, knowing the amount of pressure that's currently being stacked atop the Iron Heart's shoulders. "We're just being prepared. We're not telling you to miss, of course."

Well, it's not like Izuki has ever been very _good_ at relieving pressure.

"Of course," Kagami barges in. "Making both of these shots is the fastest way to win."

"Let's have some fun," is all Kuroko says, and oddly enough, the most comforting one yet.

Kiyoshi slowly takes a deep breath before forcing the pain to the back of his mind. "Ja, that's what I'll do."

The two teams line up on court with Kiyoshi standing on the free throw line.

"Two shots," the referee states, holding up two fingers. Kiyoshi nods, and takes the ball from him. The whistle blows, and he bounces it a couple times, imprinting the feel onto his hands.

Staring down at its surface, he spins it before taking the shot.

The ball arcs through the air before sinking into the basket, and both the crowd and Seirin's side explode into cheers.

"It went in!"

104-104. Two seconds left on the clock.

"We're tied! We're tied now!"

Kiyoshi takes another deep breath, feeling the pressure mounting even more than before. This is the shot that makes it or breaks it, or so to say.

Kiyoshi takes the ball from the referee, spinning it in his hands like he did before. After that one free throw, his leg is throbbing harder than ever. He can't ignore it anymore. It's beating in time to his heart, which is racing faster and faster with every passing second, which can't possibly be healthy.

And even if he keeps a calm, collected face on the outside, he's panicking internally. Slowly, very slowly, he bends his knees, trying his hardest to ignore the splintering pain, and takes the shot.

The basketball leaves his hand, and time seems to slow down as it flies through the air, hitting the rim and bouncing off.

"REBOUND!" the two coaches scream in unison, as the players on both teams rush to grab the ball first.

Otsubo and Miyaji's hands are just about to touch it when Kagami breaks through, snatching the ball back from in between them. The moment he lands, he jumps back up into the air, his intentions clear. Midorima quickly follows, determination practically pouring off of his skin as the two engage in a deadlock right in front of the net. Kagami's hand is pushing the ball towards the basket while Midorima's is pushing away.

The timer hits zero.

The buzzer sounds, and the basketball flies out from between Kagami and Midorima's hands. It hits the opposite side of the court and rolls out-of-bounds.

"It's a tie."

Every single player on court looks utterly exhausted, trying to catch their breaths after such an intense match. The gym is eerily silent, as if no one knows how to react.

Then again, no one probably does.

Ties don't usually happen. They're so rare, in fact, that there aren't even any overtime rules.

_That last free throw...If I had just made it..._

"Kiyoshi!"

When the person in question looks up, he's greeted with the sight of his teammates thrusting their hands into his face.

The palms all connect with the upper parts of his body, and he falls to the ground. "You guys are brutal. Honestly, I didn't expect you to blame me _that_ much!"

Hyuuga's hand lowers. "Blame you? Those were high fives."

"What?"

"Don't be stupid," Hyuuga snorts, glaring down at Kiyoshi. "We made it this far because of you."

"No one takes it easy," Izuki supplies, smiling down at the confused center. "It's no one's fault."

"Besides, we didn't lose," Kagami grumbles, glancing off to the side. It's obvious that he had to muster a lot of maturity in order to say that.

Kuroko, though-her reaction kicks everyone else's to the dust. A smile-a _real_ one, that shows up and everything-stretches her lips. "We did the best we could. I have no regrets."

Kiyoshi blinks before smiling. "You're right."

"Kagami." At the sound of his name, all of the Seirin players turn around to see Midorima. "Surely you're not satisfied with this."

Kagami smirks. "Of course not. We'll settle things later."

Takao steps forward walking up to Kuroko. "There will be no ties at the Winter Cup, Tetsu-chan. Let's settle things then, shall we?"

Kuroko fully turns around to face him. "I couldn't ask for more, Takao."

"Okay, what the hell is this?" Kagami bursts, even as the gym begins to fill with the sound of clapping. "Why are you guys so buddy buddy? Don't you dare ignore me this time, Tetsuya!"

"Maa-" Kuroko begins only to be cut off by Takao, who throws an arm over his shoulder.

With his signature mischievous grin and wink, he declares, "You see, Tetsu-chan's my girlfriend! Why wouldn't I be so _friendly_ with her?" As if to prove his obviously false point, he leans then and pecks Kuroko's cheek, whose blank expression doesn't falter throughout the entire interaction.

Then again, it seems like there are two people who just don't get it.

"EHHHHH?" Kagami and Midorima scream in unison, pointing at the laughing Takao and completely unaffected Kuroko.

_"With a score of 104-104, it's a tie!"_

And even though the game doesn't end exactly the way either team had planned, they leave the court with a satisfied feeling warming them from the inside out.

"Tetsuya! What the hell was that on the court?"

It doesn't last long.


	10. Tenth: Cheaters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter up ahead. Some 11k words, and it makes me ridiculously proud.
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Echizen steadfastly ignores Seijūrō's piercing stare as the two follow the crowd of spectators leaving the Seirin-Shutoku match, still chattering excitedly over every single little detail. She knows full well that he's asking-well, _demanding_ her to tell him about oyaji's house, about Jin, about the wounds that were so obvious in her skin the day before but are now completely gone (the wonders of makeup-not for covering her flaws, for covering her secrets), but she continues to refuse, and she can tell that he's angry about it.

Still, for whatever reason, he doesn't immediately threaten her the way he would anyone else, and Echizen isn't sure whether she's grateful or irritated to the obvious difference in treatment.

Seijūrō leads the way through the gym again, and she follows a few steps behind him, not bothering to stifle the yawn that bursts out of her lips. She doesn't bother to ask him when he turns a corner that _clearly_ doesn't lead to the exit, if the lack of people and strange looks they garner are to be taken into account.

She's pretty sure she already knows where he's going, anyways.

Not to her surprise, they step out into a hallway with a few doors lining the walls. The one directly across from them sits next to a plaque with the word "Seirin" written across it. The door is closed, and Echizen can't hear anything coming from the locker room, so either the inhabitants are playing the silent game or there's nobody inside.

"Seijūrō," Echizen begins, but snaps her mouth shut when he merely moves forward, ignoring her words. Huffing, she follows, wondering, not for the first time, why she decided that this would be a good idea.

 _Skipping school without technically skipping school_ , a small part of her brain whispers.

 _So not worth it!_ the rest of her brain screams back.

Seijūrō at least has the decency to knock on the door instead of barging in like Echizen had originally believed he would, but he doesn't wait the customary ten seconds before opening the door and stepping in with a cool, "Pardon the intrusion."

He doesn't sound like he's asking for a pardon at all.

Honestly, it sounds more like he's mugging the place.

Luckily for the two of them (more for Echizen, but then again, she's rather used to seeing naked males-as to why, she doesn't really want to relive those experiences), the locker room is devoid of changing males. In fact, the only person there is-

Oh, that Kiyoshi guy. The one who's name seemed really familiar the moment she heard it, but that feeling soon disappeared because, well, Echizen has never been one for names. She probably has heard of him, but forgot about him seconds later.

Up close, however, it's not just his name that seems familiar. He himself seems familiar, yet unfamiliar at the same time. It's a strange feeling.

It doesn't seem like Kiyoshi has noticed the two intruders yet. Echizen's eyes narrow as they zero in on his hands. His brow is furrowed and his teeth are clenched in pain. Sweat dots his skin, and his fingers are clenched tightly around his knee. His entire body is trembling, shaking violently, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out that something is terribly wrong.

"Kiyoshi Teppei."

The person in question, looks up, jerking his hand back from his knee, as if trying to hide any evidence of his injury. His brow furrows even further upon seeing Seijūrō. He probably hasn't seen Echizen yet, who's standing slightly behind her red-haired companion, and for all her protestations and colorful word choice, he's still taller than her. Kiyoshi's eyes scan Seijūrō's frame, clouded with confusion for a moment before they clear with recognition. "You are...Akashi Seijūrō. The captain of the Generation of Miracles."

"Astute observation," Seijūrō replies crisply, and coming from anyone else, the words would seem sarcastic, but Seijūrō has somehow made them sound mockingly genuine, as if it's an actual compliment when it's obvious that it's more of an insult. "Where is Tetsuya?"

"Seijūrō?"

Echizen steps to the side as Seijūrō glances over his shoulder. Tetsu stands in the doorframe, a confused look on her face, an adorable little dog cradled in her arms. Echizen's never really liked dogs (she's always been more of a cat person, and besides, Karupin would literally scratch any dog to death if he saw her spare a second glance), but one look at the cute little dog whose eyes are eerily similar to the girl holding him (or her? Echizen isn't close enough to tell) and Echizen's practically melting.

"Can I hold your dog?" she asks, breaking the tense silence that fell the moment Tetsu showed up. Tetsu blinks before holding out her dog, and Echizen gleefully accepts, carefully cradling the little bundle of joy and cuteness the way she held Nanako's ten-month old baby a few weeks ago (why her cousin would trust Echizen with a baby, no one understands, but Nanako's fiancé was very happy when Echizen managed to not crack his son's head on the floor). The dog looks up at Echizen, tongue lolling out as round blue eyes that look exactly like Kuroko's bore into Echizen's own. "What's his name?"

"He's Nigou," Tetsu replies, and when Echizen glances up at her, a ghost of a smile appears across her lips before it disappears again. Echizen frowns internally, glancing back down at the newly revealed Nigou before lightly rubbing his white underbelly.

"Nigou? Tetsu Number Two? I can see that."

"My team named him."

"Creative."

"I was impressed."

"I can't tell if you're being serious or not."

"She is," Seijūrō offers, heterochromatic eyes glinting, and Echizen scoffs.

"That doesn't really make it better, does it?"

"Ano...excuse me?"

Three pairs of eyes turn on the one Seirin player who, despite the smile pasted onto his face, looks thoroughly confused. He slowly raises his hands in a surrendering motion at the sudden attention. "Kuroko, do you know these two people?"

"Hai," Tetsu answers, gently taking Nigou back from Echizen. Stepping forward, she makes her way towards a bag left on the end of the bench.

When she doesn't elaborate, Kiyoshi rubs the back of his neck with his hand. "And...how do you know them?" His eyes flicker from Tetsu to Seijūrō to Echizen, and that's when she's surprised to see a flash of recognition. From the way Seijūrō tenses just slightly next to her and how Tetsu pauses in packing up, Echizen can tell that the other two have noticed as well.

Tetsu glances at Seijūrō, who nods, before glancing back at her teammate. "Seijūrō is my cousin."

Kiyoshi's jaw drops, and for a moment, he stares dumbfounded at Tetsu, who has gone back to packing up. After a few seconds of utter silence besides the rustling of her bag, he finally splutters, "You-Your cousin is Akashi Seijūrō, and-you couldn't bother to tell anyone?"

Seijūrō's eyes narrow just slightly, and he steps forward, drawing Kiyoshi's attention to him. "What difference would it have made?"

"Huh?"

"If Seirin knew that we were cousins, would you treat Tetsuya differently? As opposed to how you treat her now, as a teammate who you respect, how would you have treated Tetsuya had you know that we were cousins? It isn't as if our relation has anything to do with basketball. On court, we are enemies, but off court, we are friends. Is that so bad?"

Kiyoshi shakes his head, a sheepish look on his face. "No, it's not that we would've treated Kuroko differently. It's just...a shock to us. You two look so different, and..."

"Seijūrō has the presence that I lack," Tetsu supplies in her monotone, dragging her zipper towards her to close her bag. "We are cousins by genes. Our blood different, though. We may be opposites, but there's no doubting our shared pedigree."

The slight bitterness in her words contradicts with her emotionless tone, and Echizen wonders just what made such a meticulous person choose that particular word. (There's always a reason when it comes to Tetsu, and even though it may make her seem even more bland and boring at certain times, Echizen admires that about her. She's never admired someone so much within the span of two days of knowing her/him.)

A buzz interrupts the silence that has fallen again (Echizen has never spent so many minutes in silence around people, which is saying something), and Seijūrō pulls out his phone. His eyes darken as they scan the screen, and Echizen swears that the gold in his eye flares brighter than before for a single moment before dimming. She makes a mental note to ask Tetsu about this later.

He slips his phone back into his pocket before looking at Tetsu. "It looks like Father is requesting my presence for something." It looks like that "something" is one that both Tetsu and Seijūrō know, because with just one meaningful look and one vague, un-Akashi-like word, Tetsu's grip tightens around Nigou, causing the dog to let out a pitiful little whine. "I'll be unable to drop you off tonight."

"I can take the train. Besides, I'd like to talk with Kiyoshi-senpai for just a moment."

Seijūrō nods before glancing at Echizen. "It would be best if you stayed with Tetsuya tonight. I'll be unable to drop you off as well, and your place is a bit far from here."

Echizen narrows her eyes in defiance, but also in warning, because she's told him, has been telling him, and will keep telling him that this is _none of his damn business_. "I wouldn't want to impose."

Seijūrō stares at her for a full ten seconds, and though the silence grows thicker and tenser with each second that passes, she refuses to back down. Turning his head away, he leaves with a straight back and a dismissive, "Good night."

When he leaves, it's as if he's taken all of the heaviness with him.

Echizen sighs, walking in and sitting down next to Tetsu's bag. "We should put a muzzle on your cousin."

"That's not a nice thing to say, Ryoma-chan."

"Well, it's either that or the sedatives. Then again, he's probably stab _me_ in the neck with his scissors before I could even get close enough with the syringe."

"This is my cousin we're talking about, Ryoma-chan. Please do keep that in mind."

"Yeah, yeah," the tennis player grumbles, swinging her legs up onto the bench and leaning forward to reach her toes. Letting out a sigh as all the kinks and sores from not stretching properly after the brutal tennis practice this morning loosen, Echizen glances towards Kiyoshi, who seems to have given up on understanding what's going on in favor of trying to alleviate his pain secretly. "You know, that game was impressive."

"Hmm?" The perpetually cheerful (except for now) brunette glances up, pinched face smoothing out into another plastic grin. If not for the fact that both Echizen and Tetsu are seasoned lie detectors, they probably would've fallen for it.

"Kiyoshi-senpai, it was unnatural for you to miss that shot," Tetsu states bluntly, bending down slightly to let Nigou down. The dog quickly bounces over to the corner of the room where he plops down, curls into himself, and almost immediately falls asleep. "I may not have known you for a long time, but I have played against you before. There must be a reason."

"You knew?" Kiyoshi's fake happy smile fades away into one that looks more like a pained grimace than anything else. "I..."

Echizen straightens slightly, golden eyes flashing over Kiyoshi's figure, drawing on everything she understands about basketball (which, admittedly, isn't a lot) in order to assess his current state. She's sure that Tetsu has already figured out, and is waiting for something to happen-for what, Echizen isn't quite sure, but she doesn't particularly like being left in the dark. For all her seeming parade of hatred against human interaction, she likes knowing what's going on.

It feels weird if she doesn't.

Her eyes focus on Kiyoshi's knee. Even though the rest of his body is steady, his knee is trembling just slightly, just enough to alert her that the root of the problem is there. As a joint, the knee is one of the most important parts of the body for sports, especially in basketball, where jumping is the only way to score. With an injured knee...

"What happened to your knee?" Echizen asks suddenly, causing Kiyoshi to look at her in surprise. Again, that flash of recognition when she has no recollection of having ever met him before-maybe he follows tennis in his spare time? Apparently, the match against Mura-senpai has "gone down in history" as one of the most astonishing junior high tennis matches ever, though closely matched by the one between the Monkey King and Mitsu-buchou-something about enemies on court reconciling as friends off court? Surprisingly similar to what Seijūrō said, but Echizen has never really given it a thought. After all, in tennis, rivals are rivals. When there's no tennis around, there's no point in calling them rivals because there's nothing to compete in against them.

"You don't know?" The sheer surprise in his question causes Echizen to cock her head to the side as a slight frown curls her lips downward.

"Know? How should I? I don't even play basketball."

Kiyoshi frowns slightly, leaning back. His knee spasms again, and his hand jerks in its position braced against the bench. "So you really don't remember?"

"Remember?" Echizen's starting to feel like a parrot, and she really doesn't like the feeling. "Is there something that I should know?"

Kiyoshi doesn't answer, staring at the ground for some time before sighing. "We met, a few months back. Honestly, I shouldn't even really be surprised that you didn't remember. After all, it was so insignificant."

Echizen hears Tetsu moving around the bench to take a seat across from Echizen, attentively staring at Kiyoshi. Obviously, this is news for the two of them.

"We were both in the hospital at that time. Me because of my knee, and you because..." His eyes slide over her exposed flesh, and Echizen immediately knows the reason why. She sincerely hopes that he doesn't. "Well, you didn't tell me, but you were covered in nasty bruises and you had a concussion. I thought that some bullies had gotten you." She breathes an internal sigh of relief. "I was just sitting in my hospital room when you came in. Apparently you got lost, and we started just...talking." That sounds...very uncharacteristic of her. it's not necessarily that she's _shy_ , it's just that she doesn't needlessly talk to strangers ever since that incident. Then again, from the start, she's always felt particularly at ease with Kiyoshi. It's a refreshing change from Seijūrō. "It was nothing serious-you talked a little bit about tennis, and I talked a little bit about basketball. Certainly nothing extraordinarily memorable. Afterwards, you asked for some directions, and I gave them to you."

"If that's it, then why do you still remember me?" _I certainly don't_ is the unspoken follow up sentence that everyone hears, but Kiyoshi only laughs.

"Maa, you see, that's the weird thing. I still do. It's your eyes. Back then, they were haunted. Like you've lost something important, and you've given up all hope on ever finding out. To tell you the truth, you reminded me of _me_ back then, simply because you looked broken beyond repair. I've found my footing, and right now, I'm not so sure if you've found your's."

Echizen blinks, refusing to look away from Kiyoshi's eyes, even though the words hit her right in the gut. It's as if he just took a swan dive into her soul. She doesn't want him to know that it's true. That it's all true. She doesn't want Tetsu to know, because a girl like her doesn't deserve to be burdened by all the baggage Echizen constantly carries around. (She's never liked that statement-after all, it's not like she _likes_ that baggage. It's not like she _wants_ it. And yet, the idiom makes it sound like she's willingly dragging it around everywhere she goes, messing up herself and all the people around her. It's more like the baggage is tied to her rib cage by a chain.)

She wonders if she should feel guilty for feeling relieved when Kiyoshi's face twists again and he's unable to keep his hand from grabbing onto his knee as a particularly painful looking jolt shudders through his body. Tetsu, who has stayed silent throughout the entire exchange, immediately moves to him, carefully prying his hand away from his knee in order to look it over. "Kiyoshi-senpai, what really did happen to your knee? This is something serious. You shouldn't play in the next game. Especially since you must know Hanamiya-san's basketball."

Kiyoshi grimaces, allowing Tetsu to carefully prod his injury. Whether or not the blue-haired girl actually has some sort of medical background remains to be seen, but she seems confident in what she's doing (then again, with that blank face, she would seem confident even while gouging her own eyes out). "This year...is probably my last chance. Even if it destroys my knees, I'm playing."

Echizen's eyes narrow, flickering down to observe the joint. She hadn't thought that it's that bad... "Who did this to you?"

Kiyoshi jerks slightly in his seat, glancing up at the girl sitting diagonal of him. "...It happened last year. When I entered high school, Seirin didn't have a basketball team yet. I had wanted to start the club, but no one wanted to join. As a new school, Seirin just wasn't interested as a whole in basketball. That was when I ran into Hyuuga." A slight, unconscious smile stretches his lips, and Echizen's sure that he's thinking back on something funny. "At the time, his hair was much longer, and it was bleached." Echizen is immediately reminded of Tachibana Kippei-since when did boys decide that dyeing their hair blonde is a neat trend? "And he hated basketball. I continued to pester him for a while, and during that time, we were approached by Izuki, Koganei, and Mitobe, all of whom said they they would join if we formed a team. When we approached Riko, though...she refused." Echizen doesn't understand most of what Kiyoshi's saying, considering that she only knows the names of two people on the team, but she keeps quiet. Unlike some people, she can actually use context clues. "She hates quitters. Teiko Middle School...they made a lot of quitters. Eventually, though, everything worked out. Hyuuga came to realize that all he was doing was running away from the potential pain that something he truly loved could cause, and Riko joined when we showed her-and everyone else in the school-just how serious we were."

Echizen raises an eyebrow when Tetsu's shoulder shake just the tiniest bit-in suppressed laughter, she realizes, and that piques her curiosity. "What did you guys do?"

Kiyoshi cracks a wide grin. "We climbed up onto the top of the school and announced to the entire school during assembly that we would become the best basketball team in Japan."

Echizen blinks uncomprehendingly before a short, surprised laugh escapes her. She's never heard of something so ridiculously...fun. Sure, her team is close-knit, and it's only gotten even more (to the point that it sometimes feels _stifling_ ) so since her early entrance into high school, but...

They've never done something a team bonding exercise like _that_.

_Tennis is the only thing of true value in this world._

Tennis is a lonely sport.

"We breezed through our first matches in Inter High easily. The team was fun. Basketball was fun. But then..." A dark shadow passes over Kiyoshi's face. "We played against Kirisaki Daīchi. Hanamiya Makoto." Kiyoshi glances towards Echizen, who's observing both him and Tetsu. At the mention of the guy's name, Tetsu had tensed as well. Whoever he is, he stirs a whole load of negative emotions within them. "He is...a prodigy. In his own right. There's no denying his talent and his hard work. The thing about Hanamiya, though, is that-"

"Rough play," Tetsu states, uncharacteristically interrupting Kiyoshi's words. "Hanamiya-san doesn't hesitate to hurt players on court in order to score baskets. Rather despicable of him."

Echizen has had her fair share of people like this Hanamiya guy-whose name happens to be the most twisted sense of irony that Echizen has ever had the fortune of coming across. She's met people like Jin and Akaya and even the Monkey King, yet not one of them has ever stirred the deep pit of bitterness within her the way Hanamiya seems to have in her two companions. There must be something about that guy to have made two innately calculating people to hate him. There's always a reason when it comes to people like them.

"All the way up until the four-minute mark of the fourth quarter, Seirin was doing fine. We were winning, with Hyuuga's constant stream of threes and my help on the inside. At that point, Hanamiya was substituted in. For the first few plays, he played regularly. There was nothing special about what he did, and I had thought that maybe, just this one time, he wasn't going to do anything. I should've known better."

She can already guess where this is going, how it all fits together. She's not an idiot. She understands. She knows things like this, and how they can ruin people's lives. Just look at Akaya. Guilt-ridden and terrified for a good half of his life because of being unable to control a part of him when Mura-senpai was too much of a self-absorbed _bastard_ to get Akaya the help he needed because personality disorders are detrimental to one's health and safety and shouldn't be fucking used as a tool to win championships. (If it isn't obvious, she still holds a grudge against the blue-haired teen to this day, despite admitting her respect to him and vice versa.)

"I was going for a rebound after Koganei's shot hit the rim, but when I caught it, the opponent's center fell on my knee. At that time, my knee was already injured-just not enough to take me out of the game. Normally, the amount of pressure wouldn't have been absolutely horrible-it would've hurt, but I could've still played. But because of my previous injury, it was much, much worse."

Echizen slowly blinks, breaking down everything he just said before questioning, "And Hanamiya did that on purpose?"

Kiyoshi shrugs, staring down at the floor. "There's no proof, so there's nothing but speculation on this. I've known Hanamiya since middle school, and I know what his style of basketball is. In my eyes, there's no doubt about how that incident happened, but I can't do anything about it. Seirin won the game, but lost in the long run. I chose to take rehabilitation without surgery, so that I could at least play this year with my team. If we don't win this year..."

Kiyoshi doesn't finish the sentence, but he doesn't need to. The unspoken words are crystal clear.

_I'll never be able to play on this team ever again._

Tetsu stands up, causing both Echizen and Kiyoshi to look up at her. Both watch in shock as her normally blank gaze burns with fire and she announces without a moment of hesitation, "Kiyoshi-senpai, tomorrow, we will beat Kirisaki Daīchi. We will beat Hanamiya Makoto, and we will move onto the Winter Cup, and we will win every single match until the trophy is in your hands. Only then will I allow you to stop playing basketball."

The two stare silently at Tetsu who stares unblinkingly back before Echizen lets out a small snort, which is followed by a roar of laughter from Kiyoshi. The two dissolve into a laughing fit, and Echizen knows that Tetsu pretends not to notice the tears that spring up in her eyes, because, _damn it_ , those words hit way too close to home for comfort.

Once upon a time, she said those words to someone she respected, to someone whose arm is now fully healed because just as he refused to give up, her sentiment was multiplied by his sevenfold.

"Thank you, Kuroko."

A ghost of a smile appears on her face as she replies. "Your welcome."

Echizen wonders where this girl has been all her life.

* * *

The next day, Echizen finds Seijūrō waiting for her outside of the rusted gate of oyaji's place. Even though he looks as cold and condescending as ever, his eyes glimmer with a hint of disappointment, as if she's let him down in one way or another. She ignores it because he looks at everyone like that.

Grumbling a bleary, "Oyasumi," she struggles to climb through the door of the limousine. When she manages to stumble into the vehicle, she collapses onto one of the seats, curling up and letting out a loud, contented sigh. She tries her hardest to ignore her sticky skin, a result of practicing tennis late into the night and early in the morning. She hadn't even bothered to change out of her tennis outfit, not that her casual wear tends to be anything different.

"Ohayou," Seijūrō responds, sardonic amusement practically saturating his tone as he enters and closes the door. The limousine immediately takes off, driving the two teens towards the gym where Seirin's last prelim match will be.

As she lays on the seat, she finds her mind slowly clearing itself instead of growing heavier with sleep, so she spends the time productively by contemplating a question that she's had since she left Tetsu and Kiyoshi yesterday night in order to make her way back to where's she'll be staying until this evening. She'll be heading back to Rakuzan after the Seirin-Kirisaki Daīchi match. Rakuzan lets out on an earlier winter break than most other schools, just to give an official reason for students to go to Tokyo and watch the Winter Cup.

The ridiculousness of her school sometimes boggles her mind.

Her mind turns back to the question at hand: whether Seijūrō knows about Kirisaki Daīchi, or more importantly, that guy-what was it, Hana Mako? The one with the ironic name. Maybe she'll just refer to him as Hippo San (Hippo Ichi being Suke-senpai and Hippo Ni being Mura-senpai, the both of them having quite the track record of telling her to do something while doing the opposite-she wonders if they really do think that she's as stupid as they act like she is).

Digression aside, if Tetsu knows Hippo San, then Seijūrō has to. From what little she knows about the two's middle school history, they were on the same team for three years. There'd be a slim chance for Tetsu to know someone while Seijūrō doesn't, especially considering his "know all, be all" attitude. If he ever finds out that he doesn't know something, he'll _make_ himself know it.

Look at that, the power of common sense.

The limousine comes to a smooth stop, and Seijūrō swings the door open, stepping out. He holds out a hand, more of a common courtesy than an actual helping hand, and besides, Echizen has never liked it when other people touch her. She ignores the hand in favor of pushing herself up and painstakingly climbing out, her sore muscles protesting her jerky movements because she didn't have time to stretch either before Seijūrō had ushered her out of the house, all while shooting her annoyingly meaningful looks and giving reassuring shoulder squeezes.

The two ignore the stares and whispers that they receive as they make their way towards the gym. Echizen is dragging her feet, not bothering to hide her yawn as she stretches, sighing contentedly as she hears her bones pop and crack. Seijūrō shoots her a slightly disgusted look that's disguised as a reprimanding one, which she easily waves off. " _You're_ the one who interrupted my after practice stretch. It's all on you if I twist a muscle walking up the stairs."

"If you had been practicing for a normal amount of time, you wouldn't have had that problem."

Echizen frowns, lowering her arms. She knows that she really shouldn't, because that would mean that she's _confirming_ what the ridiculous bastard is saying, but... "I could've woken up late."

Seijūrō glances at her. "I highly doubt that."

Echizen sulks the entire way into the gym.

When they arrive, most of the stands are packed. Since it's the last prelim match before the actual Winter Cup, a lot more people will be watching the matches than usual. Seijūrō once again finds a dark corner to park himself in, and Echizen wonders, not for the first time, whether he's secretly some moody emo under that tough, "Emperor knows best" attitude he has going on.

His eyes flash at her from the darkness, and she hastens her footsteps in order to reach his side.

Seirin and Kirisaki Daīchi are both already on court. The two teams are practicing shots, and Echizen finds her eyes immediately drawn to the flashing blue that she knows always accompanies Tetsu. She's finding it easier for herself to pinpoint the exact location of the phantom-like girl the more time she spends with her-which, honestly, makes a lot of sense. It still seems monumental, though, whenever her eyes land on Tetsu's slim figure.

If nothing else, Tetsu would be a good way to boots morale and self-confidence just by being ridiculously hard to see.

As someone who constantly draws attention wherever she goes (it's not like Echizen's blind, she just chooses not to acknowledge it because in her experience, the aloofness of her attitude tends to be a good enough deterrent to most people), she finds herself admiring Tetsu the more she finds out about her. As a rule of thumb, Echizen doesn't tend to judge people based on anything other than their qualities as a tennis player-which, in and of itself, is rather aloof. Her first real "friend," or rather, association, with someone outside of tennis is Seijūrō, followed by his team, and then, Tetsu. Although Tetsu is the third (well, sixth, if the Rakuzan basketball team is counted individually) on that list, she was the first to draw Echizen's attention and respect almost effortlessly.

That's not something easy to do.

And though Tetsu seems plain and boring on the outside, there's something extraordinary about her that Echizen can't help but be drawn to, and that's when she realizes that she's in too deep on this one.

_Why am I even here in the first place?_

_Tennis is the only thing of true value in this world._

_What a waste of time._

If that's true, then why does she feel warm whenever she watches the members of Seirin interact?

_The answer is one that she doesn't want to face right now._

"Hey! Looks like we made it."

At the sound of the oddly familiar voice (she's starting to think that she knows half of Japan with the amount of times she's found something "oddly familiar" within these past few days), Echizen glances to her right, where a group of students in uniforms step out. She immediately recognizes the stiff, formal looking attire (not that Rakuzan's school uniform is any better) as uniforms that belong to Touou. Normally, she wouldn't bother to remember something as useless as a school uniform, but she remembers Touou's clearly because this was the school she had been planning to go to had Rakuzan not made a last minute tennis scholarship offer. Combine the free tuition, room, and board with the fact that her most beloved tennis teammates and rivals (read: the ones who can actually put up a challenge against her, but shh, she didn't say a thing) are attending that school, she couldn't afford to turn down the once-in-a-lifetime offer. Besides, Touou doesn't have the prestigious tennis team that Rakuzan has, having never made it to Nationals for an eighty-year gap. The same could be said for Seigaku, but at least they had some really good tennis players. Touou's tennis team, for lack of a better term, is shit.

Still, she clearly remembers the Touou uniform. These people must be Touou's basketball club.

The one who spoke is that guy she had thought was a coach of some sort. It seems like he's actually a student, but from the way he heads the pack, he's probably the captain, which explains quite a bit. There's a group of three guys behind him, and from the angle that Echizen's standing out, she can just barely make out a flash of bright pink over the smiling captain's shoulder. _Is that natural?_

"Saa, we're here," a girl's voice sounds out from behind the group, and Echizen's ears can just barely make out the sound of some rustling before a low voice enters the din.

"That was a dirty trick."

The captain glances over his shoulder, not missing a beat. "You're just too stupid, Aomine."

"It was easier than catching a sparrow," the girl responds, and Echizen can't help but ponder over the potential IQ of someone who's easier to trick than a sparrow. At least with a sparrow, there's an excuse for it to not understand that free food usually means nasty catch.

What excuse does this guy-Ahomine, was it?-have?

"This isn't Horikita Mai-chan! It's Horiuchi Mako-chan!" Echizen briefly recognizes the latter's name, having heard oyaji croon it one night followed by unmentionable noises. Any innocence that the thirteen-year-old girl could've retained was lost long ago, especially after the move to Japan.

"So what?" the captain asks, clearly done with the other's attitude. "They're both cute. Who cares?"

"I like big tits!"

It's a miracle that no one has heard this rowdy group yet. Maybe they'll get kicked out of the gym. _One can only hope_.

Echizen's attention is drawn across the courts as another distinctive group enters from the opposite side. From here, she can just barely make out their uniforms, but she isn't familiar with the all-gray ensemble. The extent of her hearing range is the from the stands she's currently standing on to the end of the court, so she can't hear them. However, she _can_ hear it when one of the members who seems to be missing every other letter in his words shouts an incoherent jumble of words.

The mess is quickly followed by an extremely loud and cheerful, "Oi, Momocchi, Aominecchi!"

_Oh, Aomine...cchi? What the fuck is that?_

She's a bit more concerned with the fact that the blonde managed to see all the way across the gym to where the Touou group is currently standing. _He's no regular airhead...he's an airhead with ridiculous eyes._

The Touou group ignores the noise from the opposite court, though the pink-haired girl makes a sort of embarrassed sound in the back of her throat, the only indication that the airhead really was addressing them. As she follows the rest of her group to some seats below, she hears the pink-haired girl ask the guy, Ahomine, "What?"

"I'm not interested in the game," he answers in a lazy drawl, "but they seem awfully bloodthirsty today. Even Tetsu."

At the sound of the nickname, Echizen perks up, wondering how exactly the guy knows Tetsu. Not only that, but he used the same nickname that she uses. He doesn't seem like the type of guy Tetsu would be close with-not because the blue-haired girl doesn't have many friends, but because he's...

Well, he's a lot like Echizen.

_So, what does that say about my relationship with Tetsu?_

Down on the court, the guy who was making all of the shots from a big distance during Seirin's game, the captain, shoots. His ball hits the rim, then the backboard, and doesn't even touch the net.

"Is Hyuuga okay?" one of the members who isn't wearing the jersey asks. "He's been missing all his shots today."

_Hyuuga, Hyuuga...oh, it's that guy who Kiyoshi said hated basketball in the beginning. It sounded like they were really close. Well, that's not good. If he lets his feelings mess with his head...sometimes, it doesn't work out._

A starter standing near him sighs. "I understand that he's excited, but we're up against _them_ today."

Unbidden, Echizen's eyes wander towards Kirisaki Daīchi's side. None of them strike her as particularly malicious-honestly, one of them is even blowing bubblegum. None of them make her nerves scream "duck," and none of them make her wary of them. They look like just another high school basketball team, but the looks on some of Seirin's members faces say otherwise.

The ball that had missed the net slowly rolls across the floor, lightly bumping into one of Kirisaki Daīchi's player's feet. He turns around, picking up the ball. A genial smile dances across his face as he reaches out with the ball in hand. "Isn't this your ball?"

Kiyoshi comes up, and she realizes that he isn't a starter for this game. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." The Kirisaki Daīchi player tosses the ball to Kiyoshi, who easily catches it. As he turns around, his eyes narrow, and the amicable smile turns into a sly-looking smirk. "Hey, you seem to be feeling well."

"Yeah, thanks to you." The frigid tone in Kiyoshi's usually light voice immediately alerts Echizen to the identity of the stranger.

_Hippo San._

He turns around, ready to head back to his side of the court when Hyuuga steps forward, a confrontational air surrounding him, only emphasized further when he demands, "Wait a moment!" When Hippo San turns back to look at him, the innocent, guileless face from before back in full force, Hyuuga continues onwards. "You better not have forgotten what you did last year."

"Oi, don't be mean." Hippo San grins. "You still think I did something?" Laughing softly, he tilts his head back, eyes glinting. "I don't know what you're talking about. He just hurt himself." As if mockingly, he snaps his figners.

"Bastard!" Hyuuga begins to move forward, but that monstrous guy with the huge jumps-Bakaga or something like that? The one thing that has changed about Echizen besides her top three priorities: the fact that she still sucks at remembering names-lays a heavy hand on his captain's shoulder. Tetsu stands on Hyuuga's other side, blank blue eyes trained on Hippo San, who still hasn't seemed to have noticed her.

"He's even shittier in person," Bakaga sneers, and Echizen wonders if he knew the story prior to yesterday or if he was told later because she sure as hell would've remembered his presence in that locker room. It's probably the latter-he doesn't look like a person to be able to keep secrets, especially not from someone like Tetsu. "No matter what you pull..."

"We won't lose," Tetsu finishes, finally drawing the other guy's attention to her.

"Crush us if you can."

"Wow, you're assertive," Hippo San observes, drawing out his vowels. "I've heard about your first year duo. You should be careful." His head tilts slightly to the side. "I sure hope that nothing happens." His smile widens as his eyes flicker over Tetsu's figure. Echizen can practically feel the tension grow, not only from Seirin, but also from the cousin of said girl and, maybe not so surprisingly, Touu. "Look at who's here! Little Miss Team Player, from the team of bastards and arrogant little shits herself! What a surprise!" His face suddenly twists into a sneer as he spits, "Seirin is _perfect_ for your goody two shoes ass. I thought that you'd have quit basketball by now. Tell me, how many people did you save last year?"

_Save?_

Tetsu visibly stiffens, and her team all cast her concerned looks, none of which she responds to. "That is none of your business, Hanamiya-san."

"Oh, and the fun just continues! So polite, so _pure_ , I just can't stand it! Of _course_ you would join Seirin, but what do you hope to accomplish here? But don't mind me, I _encourage_ you. Aim for the stars. That'll just make it more fun when I kick you back to the dirt*."

Before any of Seirin can even begin to start on Hippo San for all of the condescending crap he just spat out, the buzzer sounds, and both teams are forced to head back to their benches.

The game is about to begin.

"They're so annoying, they're making me dizzy." Echizen's eyes are drawn towards Kirisaki Daīchi's bench, where the bubblegum-blowing win pops his bubble. It pastes itself to the lower half of his face, but all he does is nonchalantly pull of little bits and pieces of it.

Isn't that in some sort of violation of court policy or something?

"Oi, the game's starting!" a guy wearing the number eight jersey shouts at a benched players who's leaning against the wall, fast asleep-much like Jirou-senpai is on a daily basis. "Wake up!" The guy punches the sleeping guy in the head, but he doesn't even stir.

"He's not a starter," the bubblegum boy says dismissively.

Number seven glances at the three out of the corners of his eyes. His face is just as blank as Tetsu's is, but it seems darker than her's. Maybe he just lacks that ridiculously low presence she has. "Leave him alone. It's sad, isn't it? The harder they try, the more brutal the outcome."

Hippo San's face splits as a wide, malicious smirk spreads, a small, derisive chuckle the only respond to his teammate.

_"The game between Seirin High and Kirisaki Daīchi High will now begin!"_

"The winner advances to the Winter Cup," the Touou captain remarks, as if it's nothing more than an afterthought.

And, maybe, to Seirin, it is.

"It's a decisive game."

The referee throws the ball up, and the tipoff begins.

Kiyoshi gets the ball, hitting it to Seirin's number five, who immediately grabs onto it. The entire team begins rushing towards the basket, with number five bringing up the rear, the ball being dribbled in his hands.

He passes it to Hyuuga, who only holds onto it for a short second before passing it to Tetsu, who grabs onto it. Though her face is blank, the set and positioning of her body reminds Echizen of someone who has been crossed too many times...

Someone who's out for revenge.

And considering Hippo San's words from before the game...she has more than enough reason.

Tetsu pulls her right hand back, the ball clutched in her small grip. The opponent she's facing off against, number eight, snarls, "You're not going anywhere, brat!"

"I'm not," Tetsu murmurs, so soft that Echizen almost doesn't pick up on it, "a brat."

Faster than the blink of an eye, she appears behind number eight, dribbling down the court. When number twelve appears in front of her, attempting to block her off, she quickly throws it over his shoulder. It flies directly up and above the basket, only to be slammed down into the net by Kiyoshi.

"Nice," Kiyoshi grins, smacking the back of Tetsu's head. A sort of easygoing camaraderie that's a bit different from the distant cordial rapport they had before yesterday's talk/intervention has appeared between the two, and when Tetsu glances back up after recovering herself, the smile that dances across her lips tells Echizen that the girl herself is more than aware of it.

"So this is Tetsu's new technique that Satsuki mentioned," Ahomine murmurs, slight surprise coloring the lazy tone. He chuckles slightly.

The Touou captain laughs fully. "Seirin's games are never boring."

"Their coordination was impressive, too," the girl murmurs.

"They're in top gear right out of the gate. They're one of the most aggressive teams in Tokyo, too. How will Kirisaki Daīchi handle this?"

"Damn it. Seirin's pretty strong," the one who had ben passed by Tetsu earlier curses, glaring at the team in question. "Kiyoshi the Iron Heart and the rookie duo Kagami and Kuroko. Hyuuga the clutch shooter and Izuki the control tower. They're individually strong across the board."

Hippo San lets out a surprisingly feminine chuckle, and number eight turns to look at him. "So what? I always tell you the same thing. I don't care if they're geniuses or prodigies. Break them, and they're all just trash."

The game continues on with Kirisaki Daīchi having the ball this time. Hippo San dribbles the ball down the court, only to come to a stop when Seirin's number five steps in front of him.

Behind the two, Hyuuga and Kirisaki Daīchi's number seven face off. Number seven glances at Hyuuga before saying, "You look awfully aggressive. The game's only just started. Relax."

Taking advantage of Hyuuga's momentary distraction and confusion, number seven ducks around him and pushes past him. Hyuuga turns to follow when his forehead slams into the bubblegum boy's bicep.

The ball is passed to the free number seven, who catches it and shoots a basket. Echizen can immediately tell that it won't go in-his muscles are far too relaxed, his stance a little sloppy. Noticing himself, he murmurs, "Oh? Maybe I relaxed too much."

He doesn't sound all too worried.

True to her prediction and his words, the ball bounces off the rim of the basket, and Bakaga, whose standing near the basket, looks ready to grab it. He goes to jump, but jolts suddenly, as if pinned down. Echizen's eyes are immediately drawn to his feet, where the bubblegum boy's right heel is pressing down on Bakaga's toes.

Bubblegum boy jumps up, easily grabbing hold of the ball since Bakaga was unable to. As he comes down, Echizen's eyes narrow on his right arm. His sharp elbow comes swinging down at an unnatural angle, and if Bakaga had been a second late in pulling away, the point would've caught him point blank in the face.

Bubblegum boy lands soldily before jumping back up, making the basket.

As he turns to head back, a bubble pops out of his mouth (again, isn't that some sort of health hazard?) as he raises a hand and calls in a mockingly cheery voice, "Sorry, sorry."

"That bastard!" Bakaga snarls, eyes burning holes into the retreating player's back.

"Calm down, Kagami!" Seirin's number five calls. "Don't get worked up."

As the game continues, even Echizen, as a complete new basketball viewer, can tell that unfair play is happening in this match. Maybe it's because she plays a sport as well, but then again, it seems like the only person unaware of the rough play happening is the referee, which in and of itself is a stupid notion.

Kirisaki Daīchi's players continue to play dirty and underhanded tricks in order to get the ball or to score baskets. The same heel on toes gag is repeated on Kiyoshi, and when Kirisaki Daīchi's number seven leaps up to grab the ball, his elbow comes swinging down with much more force than necessary, heading directly for Hyuuga's face.

The point connects, but not with Hyuuga.

Kiyoshi stands in between the two players, his forearm raised to block the incoming strike. He had taken the full brunt of the impact, and Echizen can already tell that he's paying the consequences.

"We're on court," Kiyoshi snarls, eyes piercing out from underneath his arm. "Beat us at basketball."

Kirisaki Daīchi's number seven stares blankly at Kiyoshi. "That's what I'm doing." He pulls his arm back only to throw a pass that streaks across the court, landing in a running Hippo San's hand. Seirin's number five immediately comes racing up to block him, but Hippo San easily bypasses him with a series of quick movements and sharp turns. He makes the basket.

As Hippo San jogs back to his position, he comes to a stop next to Kiyoshi. "That was close. We almost crushed four-eyes." Kiyoshi's eyes widen, and Hippo San's smirk seeps through into his words. "Stay out of our way. Unless you want a little more...motivation?"

Tetsu chooses that exact moment to pass by the pair, sending the two a quick second glance that most people don't notice (if they even notice her in the first place).

It can't be more clear as to who he's talking about.

"I don't care if I'm the only one who gets hurt." Kiyoshi's clenched fist trembles at his side. "But I can't stand you injuring my teammates!" Hippo San starts moving on, and Kiyoshi snarls, "Hanamiya!"

Turning around, the teen waits with a wide smirk on his face. People like him...Echizen finds them absolutely _infuriating_.

"I will defeat you!" Kiyoshi announces, whirling around to face Hippo San.

The match starts again, and the main problem that Seirin seems to be facing isn't just the rough play, but also the fact that Hyuuga is continually missing his shots. Every few seconds, a new jab is made at one of Seirin's players, even as the veneer of a basketball game continues to be fabricated.

To be honest, Echizen admits that she's somewhat impressed. It definitely takes some sort of talent for these players to pull off movements such as those without the referee seeing. Quick reflexes, impeccable timing, a surprising amount of teamwork-really, it's like the dark half of sports.

Still, even if it's an impressive skill, there are habits. And if there are habits, there are ways to take advantage of them. As the ball bounces off the rim again, bubblegum boy stretches out his foot to pin Bakaga down again. Bakaga is, surprisingly, not as stupid as the name that Echizen has christened him with implies, because he jerks his foot out of the way, causing bubble gum boy's foot to slam heavily into the ground.

"Well, boo," the Kirisaki Daīchi player says, seeming to be unfazed by the failure of his trick. "I guess I'll just screen you out, then."

Raising his arm, he slams his elbow into Bakaga's chest. At the moment, the referee is directly behind Bakaga, his line of sight blocked by the red-haired menace's enormous build. Bakaga flinches backward, all of the breath in his body leaving him, and bubblegum boy easily leaps up and takes the ball, tossing it back into the basket and scoring another point for his team.

"It's in!"

"That's Kirisaki's tenth point!"

Echizen, however, isn't focused on the scoreboard. Her eyes are locked on Bakaga's figure, and it seems that her fellow sportswoman shares her sentiments. It's a good thing, because at that moment, Bakaga whirls around with his fist cocked back, just as the referee turns his head towards him.

Bubblegum boy doesn't even attempt to dodge as the fist flies towards him, a wide smirk painted across his lips, covered by the thin surface of the customary bubble he blows after every basket.

Before the fist can connect, Bakaga falls face first onto the ground.

Tetsu kneels behind him, her hands wrapped around his ankles.

The moment she lets go and stands up, Bakaga's on his feet, grabbing hold of his nose. "That hurt, Kuroko!"

"What were you trying to do?" Tetsu questions clearly, the disapproving note obvious to anyone who knows her.

"What was I-"

"Are you trying to ruin everything with your anger?"

If basketball doesn't work out for Tetsu, a job as a shrink would do just fine.

The words seem to get through to Bakaga, who's starting to look less angry and more guilty.

"I'm angry, too." The admittance seems to shock quite a few of her teammates, but Tetsu plows on as if she didn't hear their gasps. "But hitting them isn't what we should be doing for our senpai-tachi. We should be beating them at basketball."

Bakaga looks like he's about to say something before he changes his mind, glaring down at the ground in anger. "You're right. Sorry." Whirling around, he bows his head towards the rest of his teammates, frantically shouting, "I'm sorry! Please hit me!"

"What?"

"But I almost..."

"It's fine," Hyuuga quickly says, looking slightly panicked.

"But I'm not satisfied!" Kagami snaps.

In the end, it isn't any of his teammates that hit him. A fist half covered by a blue sweater slams onto the top of his head as the coach shouts, "What the hell were you thinking, you moron?"

On the bench, Bakaga's hands fly up as he shakes from the aftermath of his coach's punch.

"With you out, we;ll lose things we could've won! If you're going to do it, don't make it obvious!"

" _That's_ what you meant?"

All of Seirin look worse for wear. The rough play has obviously gotten to them. Most, if not all, are sporting nasty bruises and cuts. Kiyoshi sighs before glancing at Bakaga. "Kagami, attack from the outside when we're on offense. You don't need to get rebounds on defense, either."

"What?"

All eyes turn towards Kiyoshi, completely disbelieving of what he had just said, and Echizen is of the same line of thought. Really, the parallels between Kiyoshi and Mitsu-buchou are just absolutely ridiculous.

"I'll play the inside by myself. You four cover the outside."

"One in, four out?" Seirin's number five stammers out, utter disbelief coloring his tone.

"What are you saying, Kiyoshi?" Hyuuga demands, standing up. "The rough play's the most brutal on the inside! If you do that, they'll focus all their attacks on you!"

"It's better than seeing my friends hurt."

"Wait-your leg is already injured. You can't do that. If anything, we should sub-"

Kiyoshi raises his head, and the expression on his face is enough to make the couch flinch backwards, eyes wide. "No, I'm doing it. Sorry, Riko."

"But-" she manages to choke out.

"This is what I came back for. If you switch me out now, I'll hate you for the rest of my life."

The buzzer sounds, breaking the tense silence that Kiyoshi's silence brought upon Seirin's bench. She can only step aside as Kiyoshi stands up, making his way out onto the court. "Saa...Let's have some fun."

The tone in which he used to say those words indicates anything but.

Kiyoshi was serious. Echizen, despite not knowing the boundaries of what constitutes as "inside" and what constitutes as "outside" can clearly see that Kiyoshi is in isolation compared to the rest of Seirin.

Hyuuga attempts to make a shot, but the ball rolls around the rim before bouncing out. As it begins to fall, three people attempt to make a grab for it. Kiyoshi is sandwiched in between two Kirisaki Daīchi players-bubblegum boy and number twelve. As they vie for the ball, bubblegum boy slams his elbow into Kiyoshi's side while number twelve knees the back of his uninjured nee. Kiyoshi grunts, face twisted into a pained grimace.

And yet, with the ridiculous severity of his injuries, he manages to grab the ball away from the other two, jumping back up to slam his hands onto the rim of the basket, jamming the ball into the net.

"Kiyoshi!"

"I'm fine," he responds to the concerned shout, the weary look on his face doing nothing to back up his words. "That was nothing. Leave the area under the net to me."

The game continues on in this fashion, mainly number twelve and bubblegum boy dishing out heavy hits onto Kiyoshi, who, despite the constant stream of injuries appearing on his skin, still manages to defend his area completely.

"Amazing..." the Touou pink-haired girl breathes, and Echizen has to agree, especially after watching Kiyoshi get jabbed in the side and hit in the knee, only to make a one-handed shot into the basket.

"Kiyoshi's holding down the inside by himself on offense and defense," the captain murmurs.

"Eh? Not bad."

Six minutes into the game, and the score is 23-26 in Seirin's favor. Kiyoshi sports the heaviest injuries, and he looks as if he's about to black out at any moment.

"Damn it," Bakaga hisses, looking more than frustrated. "Can we really keep doing this?"

"OF COURSE NOT!" Hyuuga snarls, and all eyes turn on the captain. "Give me the ball!"

Kiyoshi tosses the ball, which Tetsu directs to Hyuuga, who grabs onto it. The moment he takes the shot, Echizen lets out a soft, disappointed sigh. His shot hits the rim and bounces off with the sound of roaring thunder, and number seven slams his knee into Kiyoshi's injured one. Number twelve grabs the ball.

"Hyuuga, you're not yourself! Calm down!"

"I know! Just give me the ball!"

"At least make your shot when you're open!"

"What'd you say?"

_They're starting to fall apart. Especially for such a team-oriented sport and a teamwork oriented team, things don't seem to be going well for Seirin._

The game continues with an obvious shift. Bakaga takes a steal from Tetsu, heading directly for the area that Kiyoshi was supposed to take solo. His intentions are clear, and when bubblegum boy blocks him, Bakaga does the worst possible thing that he could've done in that situation-try to force his way past.

His shoulder slams into bubblegum boy's chest with more force than necessary, and the other teen falls to the ground as the whistle blows. "Charging! White, Number Ten!"

The boy in the ground pops his bubble, a smirk on his face.

Kiyoshi walks up behind Bakaga, resting his hand on top of the latter's head. "Pay more attention to your surroundings. Izuki was open. We should play our own way."

Kiyoshi is amazing, Echizen realizes once again, as the sudden tension and uneasiness that arose due to Bakaga's idiotic move suddenly dissipates with his words.

"All right!" Hyuuga shouts. "We're on defense!"

As Kiyoshi jogs back to his position, he passes Hippo San. The latter smirks. "You're one to talk. You're on the verge of becoming trash."

Kiyoshi doesn't bother to respond as he runs past, and Hippo San obviously wasn't expecting that. His eyes narrow and his teeth clench together.

The game starts again. Hippo San stands slightly away from the game, isolated in a different way. "I'm so sick of this. If you want to die so badly, die."

He raises his hand and snaps.

As Hyuuga whirls around at the sound, Kiyoshi's pushed backward by a sudden swipe to his injured leg, and as he falls, Kirisaki Daīchi's number seven falls backward with him, the ball held up in his hands, elbows pointed stiffly outwards.

It's too late for anyone to do anything.

Just as Kiyoshi lands, number seven's elbow lands directly on top of his eyes.

Echizen immediately glances towards Tetsu, who's mask has broken.

But the expression on her face isn't that of a horrified teammate. No, the expression on her face is one of someone...who's seen something that reminds her of something dangerously painful.

The whistle blows. "Referee time out!"

As the rest of his teammates run to Kiyoshi, Hyuuga whirls on Hippo San. "You can't be serious! You-"

"What?" the one in question shrugs casually, genial smile back in place. "You're falsely accusing me _again_? I don't know what happened. Things got messy under the net. It was an accident. An acci-"

His words are cut off as his eyes widen dangerously, and Echizen follows his line of gaze to where Kiyoshi lies on the floor. His hand. A single finger is twitching.

Slowly, Kiyoshi begins to move. All eyes are on him as he pushes himself up, body trembling with every single second that passes. "There's a reason as to why I decided...If they're ever about to break, I'll be their splint." He's on his knees, and he painstakingly pulls his left leg up. "If they're ever in danger, I'll be their shield." He pushes himself up onto his knees, arms swaying unsteadily by his sides. "I'll always put myself on the line..." Kiyoshi forces himself to take a few steps forward before throwing his arms out wide. His bruises from the rough play are on full display, including the new on on his forehead that's leaking blood. Echizen flinches just slightly, just enough for the far too observant boy standing next to her to notice. "...to protect the members of Seirin! That's what I came back for!"

_This is basketball._

* * *

The score at the end of the second period is 45-40 in Seirin's favor.

Even though they're ahead, they certainly weren't able to do so without harsh sacrifices.

Ahomine stands up from among his Touou peers, and he begins to walk down the row of seats and out of the bleachers.

"Oi! Where are you going, Aomine?" one of the Touou members shouts after the retreating boy's back.

He responds bluntly, "The bathroom."

On the court, Hippo San storms off, a pissed off look on his face. One of his teammates, number eight, remarks, "Hanamiya's in a foul mood."

"Maa, he does hate when things don't go his way," Kirisaki Daīchi's number seven responds, "and that type of guy." The two of them glance to the side, at Kiyoshi, who's standing at Seirin's bench, accepting a water bottle.

Hippo San slams into Tetsu, and, sneering, pushes her roughly out of the way. "Move!"

He continues to make his way off court when Tetsu calls after him, "Wait."

The sharp snip of scissors sounds from the girl's cousin, and Echizen wonders whether this'll be a regular occurrence.

Hippo San, surprisingly, comes to a stop, glancing at Tetsu over his shoulder. "What?"

"Why do you play in such an underhanded way? Do you really enjoy winning like that?"

Hippo San slowly turns towards her, eyes wide in a way that sends shivers down Echizen's spine because _she's seen them before, right before she lost everything she ever had-all in a single moment._

His hand reaches up to clench the fabric of his jersey over his heart, and Echizen is thrown off momentarily because someone with those eyes couldn't _possibly_ ever make that motion with that meaning behind it. "Of course not. But if I don't do it, how am I supposed to beat teams with members of the Generation of Miracles?" The pathetic whine in his voice only makes it worse. "I made a promise." A single teardrop rolls down his face and splatters onto his hand. "I'll place first in the Winter Cup, and..."

Tetsu has been hooked, lined, and sunk. Echizen doesn't understand just how someone can trust people so much. She hates it.

_She's jealous._

Hippo San starts to laugh. It starts off as a low chuckle but quickly grows into a maniacal cackle. "I'm kidding, baaaka." His eyes are full of mirth and derision as he sticks his tongue out. Tetsu's eyes flash. "They say the misfortune of others tastes like honey. Don't get the wrong idea, Little Miss Pure Until I Die. I don't _want_ to win. I want to see guys who've worked hard and devoted their youth to basketball grind their teeth as they lose. Do I enjoy it?" He leans forward, his nose practically touching Tetsu's. "Yeah, I do. People like you, though...I'd love to tear you to shreds!" A wide smirk spreads across his face, eyes growing wider. "What I did to your seniors last year was a _masterpiece_."

"Bastard!" Bakaga snarls from Seirin's bench, only to be retrained by the most sensible one on the team, Seirin's number five.

Hippo San laughs, pointing his finger at Tetsu, who despite her calm exterior, is roiling with emotions, a whole pit of negativity under the surface. "I hope you don't think that's the end of it. You're only just starting to grind your teeth."

The rest of Kirisaki Daīchi follow their captain out, and Echizen excuses herself. She can sense Seijūrō's knowing smile as she leaves.

Echizen wanders down the hallways, no particular place in mind. All she's really thinking of doing right now is calming down the racing of her heartbeat. Who would've thought that basketball would bring back some of the worst demons of her past-and her present?

She isn't sure how, but eventually she finds herself near the bathrooms. They must be pretty obscure, because there's no line for them, not even for the girl's bathroom, which, for some reason, always has a line of women spilling out of the door.

Echizen has been into girls' bathrooms many times before. She has seen what they do in there. She still doesn't understand why it takes so long for them to take a shit.

She's just about to walk past, due to the fact that she doesn't actually have to go, when a sudden, familiar voice stops her in her tracks.

"Hey, I didn't think I'd see you here." _Hippo San_. Who's he talking to? "Ace of the Generation of Miracles, Aomine Daiki."

Oh. Well, that answers that question. It's that guy, Ahomine. Still, though... _Generation of Miracles_. It sounds rather familiar, but Echizen isn't quite sure where she's heard it. If the fancy title is anything to take into account, the group must be pretty famous.

"Oh, it's you."

"You're as rude as ever. Be polite when you talk."

The sound of a faucet reaches Echizen's ears, and she leans against the wall next to the bathroom door, resting the back of her head against it.

"You're the one who's playing as dishonestly as ever. Don't think that you'll be getting away with hurting Tetsu without consequences. If her teammates don't hunt you down, the Generation of Miracles will. Especially Akashi Seijūrō."

"Oooh, I'm so scared. Dishonestly?" Hippo San laughs. "Give me a break. That's just bait so we can trap them. Don't be ridiculous. Besides, your precious 'Tetsu' isn't even what I'm aiming for."

"Huh? I don't know what you're talking about, but you're going to lose this game."

"What?" Another laugh. "You really do underestimate me. In fact, I wish you'd tell me how I could possibly lose."

"It's not really about whether or not I'm underestimating you. There's no reason. You made Tetsu angry. That's all."

"Really?"

Hippo San steps out of the bathroom, and the conversation ends. He immediately catches sight of Echizen, who raises her head and stares back at him when he glowers at her.

"What are you, a pervert looking for some spank bank material?" he sneers, rolling his eyes over her figure excruciatingly slowly. "Run along, honey, I'm not interested in flat-chested girls."

Echizen ignores the jab at her body, merely staring at him. After a moment, she bluntly states, "He's right, you know? You'll lose."

"Huh?" Hippo San's eyes flash, and a sneer pulls at his lips. "It's one thing for that damn bastard to say that to me, it's another for a complete stranger to say the same thing. I don't know who you are, nor do I care. You're a waste of my time."

"Do you know what they say about masterpieces? It means that they're perfect. But it also means that they're _done_." Echizen smiles slightly as the other's eyes narrow. "You're smarter than you look. You don't know me, and I don't know you, but neither of us need to know each other for me to tell you that Tetsu won't let you win. Her reason is much better than your destruction without one."

And before he can get another word in, she turns and walks away, knowing that someone like him would never try to get the last word in when it's already over.

Swearing, he stalks in the other direction.

Neither of the two notice the tanned boy who comes out of the bathroom, a slightly interested look on his face as he watches the retreating back of the girl who apparently knows Kuroko. Aomine has never heard of his ex-partner having any girl friends.

She sounds interesting (even if she has a flat chest).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko Tetsuya: 11  
> Kagami Taiga: 10  
> Kiyoshi Teppei: 7  
> Hyuuga Junpei: 4  
> Izuki Shun: 5
> 
> Hanamiya Makoto: 4  
> Furuhashi Koujirou: 7  
> Hara Kazuya: 10  
> Seto Kentarou: 5  
> Yamazaki Hiroshi: 8  
> Matsumoto Itsuki: 12
> 
> *This line is (unfortunately) not of my own creative mind. (Shamelessly) stolen from SAO Abridged: Episode 1 by Something Witty Entertainment on Youtube. (Watch it, it's hilarious.)


	11. Eleventh: Believers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Hanamiya-Echizen broship is so real. 
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Hanamayia Makoto grits his teeth as he storms back into the court, his dark mood from earlier having only gotten worse with every minute that passes.

He hates people like that.

Aomine Daiki, the dickbag that he is, too smug and arrogant for Hanamiya's tastes. What right does he have to lecture Hanamiya about whatever crap he just spat out of his mouth? All of the Generation of Shits are like that-insufferable little teenage brats with god complexes. Hanamiya's been _aching_ to break them in and drop them like the trash they are for so long.

Whether or not that's due to the thrashing that he got two years ago from that Kuroko Tetsuya girl, he'll never even think about it.

Although, he must say, he does have some reservations from _completely_ breaking them. After all, if he does, they may just _stop_ what they've been doing, and he _loathes_ to admit it, but the Generation of Shits are one fucked up group-and Hanamiya _loves_ it. He's never even made _half_ as many players grit their teeth and give up all hope as the Generation of Shits have, and while he loves watching their matches for all that psychological fuckery that they do, he also hates it because they don't even know _what_ they're doing.

Hanamiya is actively trying to destroy people's spirits, and the Generation of Shits has managed to do his job _better_ than him _without even trying_.

It pisses him off.

And then there's that girl, with the golden eyes and the flat chest. She's probably a little elementary, snotty jackass who thinks she's all the shit.

 _"It means that they're_ done _."_

Hanamiya's sneer intensifies and he slams his fist into the wall just a few inches away from the opening that leads out into the court. _Don't spout that preaching bullshit at me, prepubescent motherfucker. I'll find you and grind you into dust once I finish incinerating the trash._

He pretends that the cold sensation that's slowly spreading through him is nothing more than unbridled anticipation to beat the annoyingly _sweet_ Seirin into the ground.

After all, his web is complete.

His team doesn't question him when he comes back, hands hanging freely by his sides so that they can all see the red markings on his knuckles and the scratches that he received from punching the wall.

He watches with hooded eyes as Seirin comes onto the court, and even though his skin is still crawling (with anger) from his more than annoying meeting during half-time, he can't help the satisfaction that pools deep inside of him as he sees their eyes-so fiery and determined, and he would usually be annoyed because _damn it he hates those types of people_ but right now, he can only revel in the despair that is sure to come when he shatters their dreams to dust right before their eyes.

_A new masterpiece awaits to be fabricated._

The buzzer sounds, and the game begins.

As expected, Seirin throws the ball to the shitty brat, who catches it in both her hands. Hanamiya hadn't noticed before, just seen a flash in the corner of his eyes before it disappeared, but now that he's straining his eyes to keep her in sight, he catches sight of the slight discomfort that passes across her face, along with the way she shifts the weight of the ball from her left hand to rest it entirely on her right.

"Here comes the Vanishing Drive!"

_You don't fucking say._

However, he doesn't have long to laugh at the sudden revelation (or spew a colorful line of insults at whatever dickhead that decided his dream was to become some sort of overenthusiastic sports commentator) when she falls into a familiar stance as she gets ready to face off against Hiroshi, who's roughly pushed out of the way by Kazuya, a smug little smirk that makes Hanamiya want to sock the shit out of him painted across the bottom half of his face. The shitty brat immediately comes to a stop, dribbling the ball as her eyes flicker around the court, quickly assessing her situation. Hanamiya has to give her credit, though, she sure does have a fucking brilliant mind.

It's such a waste that _she's_ the one who has it.

Kazuya doesn't even bother to keep his bubblegum blowing habit in check, a huge one slowly forming as Kuroko continues to hesitate. Hanamiya is more than pissed at the bubblegum addict for not immediately rushing in to crush the fucking brat. He's probably inner monologuing right now. Hanamiya can practically predict what the freak is thinking.

_"It's about blinking, isn't it? She predicts a blink with her exceptional powers of observation. The moment her opponent's eyes close, she ducks in. That's how the Vanishing Drive works. Once you know the trick, stopping it is easy. Blink out of time intentionally."_

Hanamiya doesn't even have to ask to know that he's spot on.

The shitty brat stays in place for an inordinate amount of time, so long, in fact, that even her damn saint teammates start getting all worked up and fucking excited, and Hanamiya starts thinking that maybe Kazuya has some fucking _good_ points to him-

And just as Hiroshi reaches out to steal the ball, she disappears before their eyes and reappears behind them.

_Fucking shits._

"Kuroko!" the Tony the Tiger wannabe screams like he's about to fucking climax, and Hanamiya starts weighing the pros and cons of demolishing the team and reconstructing a new one from scratch for the six hundred and thirty-seventh time as the shitty brat pulls some Dance Moms shit out from her ass (don't judge-he has an older sister who's like the fucking anti-weeb of the century) and taps her feet across the ground. Somehow, that manages to stop Itsuki who can't seem to get that screw (or bucket of screws) back into his head as she easily throws the ball up. Itsuki should've swiped that ball out of the air, but instead he watches with "fuck me" eyes as it rises up and and gets slammed into the basket by a screaming Tony the Tiger wannabe, whose vocal chords will be dead by the time he's fucking twenty and lonely as shit.

Hanamiya would show up for the funeral, but only to spit on the grave, and tear them into even smaller pieces.

"Yeah! Nice work, Kagami, Kuroko!"

He wants to vomit at the sickeningly sweet "camaraderie."

"Thanks."

"Don't you think it's a bit much to jump over someone, Kagami-kun?"

"What? You're the one who passed like that."

Seirin is quite literally the poison mixed from every single thing he hates about life.

Meanwhile, one of Hanamiya's players is having an absolute meltdown.

"But..." Hiroshi breathes, gritting his teeth before whirling around to face the shitty brat. "Don't you go for the drive when your opponents blink?"

He sounds like he's fucking begging.

"What? I do?"

"What?" Hiroshi splutters for a moment before whirling around to shout at Kazuya. "This is completely different from what you told us!"

"Looks like I was wrong." And Kazuya doesn't sound sorry at all. "My bad."

_I fucking hate my team._

"Don't give me that crap!"

Seirin's completely not sexy coach is calling for a substitute. Hanamiya's eyes narrow as he watches the shitty brat switch off with number six-Koganei, the one who must be the product of _some_ sort of bestiality. That is, if Hanamiya remembers correctly. (It's not like he particularly _wants_ to know the names of trash. It's just that one he knows something, he can never _un_ -know it. _Like his sister's sex life_.)

That's one of her weaknesses. Not only her low stamina, but also the fact that she eventually wears out her usefulness. There's her wrist, and the last one he can think of is nothing more than a long shot, based on a rumor that circulated through the darkest corners of the basketball circuit (which, coincidentally, happen to be founded and created for by _your's truly_ ) about Kuroko Tetsuya and especially about her first year in Teiko's basketball club...

Specifically, her play style in her first year in Teiko's basketball club.

Well, might as well. This should be a little fun. (Though he would prefer to see her face up close and on court when he brutally decimates all of her precious teammates.)

"Perfect timing...Kentarou, you're in."

The sleeping mole snaps awake, the sleeping mask clinging tightly to his face like the octopus that Kazuya stuck into his locker as a prank did, even as he straightens up. Pulling it off, he yawns and blinks blearily. Reaching into his bag, the mole searches around for a bit before pulling out his makeup, and the cons are really starting to outweigh the pros now. The mole gels back his hair before standing up, performing arm stretching exercises all the while. "All right! I'm awake now."

"I've always thought that hair was terrible," Kazuya says straight to the owner's face, all while tossing the bangs of his mussed, greasy violet hair back.

"Shut up," the mole replies, "I can't think if my forehead is covered."

Hanamiya wonders why he has so many fucking weirdos on his team. "Ready?" Pasting a somewhat genial smile onto his face, he walks forward, refusing to actually look up into Kentarou's eyes, so he finds himself staring at the other guy's chin because _fuck it he hates being short_. "Let's go."

Kentarou smirks, his tongue darting out to wet his lips, and Hanamiya's starting to think that most of his team is gay from the way they react.

The game starts again, and Hanamiya can feel his ire growing with every second that passes when the King of Spineless Bitches himself grabs rebound after rebound, as if the wounds that Hanamiya's team has been given him are nothing more than an annoying gnat buzzing around his head. Even his smugness over his now complete web does nothing to make him any less pissed off at every single person within sight (and not out of sight).

At least Hanamiya can take consolation in the fact that Seirin seems utterly confused as to why Kentarou is playing center. That's the way Hanamiya wanted it to be, that's what he's always planned. Everything is going according to his preset orders, and he's enjoying it. (Shit, he is _nothing_ like that fucking _Ringu_ incarnate he can feel in the corner of the gym-just watching him and curling his fingers-damn, at least Hanamiya prefers to keep his victims' limbs intact-although their sanity is another issue entirely.)

But now, it's time. His web is in place, and Seirin is completely entangled in it, and they have no one else to blame but themselves. (That's not technically true, but Hanamiya doesn't particularly care for schematics when they don't suit him.)

Pervert Eye has possession of the ball, and Hanamiya easily steals it as he moves to make a pass. An easy basket.

"Don't worry about it, Izuki, let's change gears."

_It's not like any of that shit will help you now._

"Yeah."

The ball comes back into Pervert Eye's possession, and Hanamiya snorts. Seirin's name should be turned into Stubbornly Stupid because they should know by now that there's nothing they can do- _and not even their precious shitty brat can do anything about that._

 _It will be a masterpiece_.

Knetaro makes his move, traveling across the court, and, as predicted, Pervert Eye immediately passes to Bestial Bitch, and Hanamiya can only laugh as he easily pushes the ball off course, straight towards Hiroshi who decides to do his job and take it down the court, where he shoots another basket.

"Yeah!" Hiroshi exclaims, raising a hand, and Hanamiya decides to humor him, if only to rub the shock into Seirin's faces some more. (No matter what people may think, Pervert Eye is more important than he seems-Hanamiya recognizes that, and as a result, he will extort as much as possible from that.)

"Sorry, but you're not scoring again," Koujirou states calmly to the still way too amusingly tensed Four-Eyes. "You're caught in the spider's web. Now you'll die a slow death."

Hanamiya isn't sure whether he should sock Koujirou in the gut for telling Four-Eyes that, congratulate him on finally evolving from dead fish eyes to sleeping fish eyes, or sock Four-Eyes in the gut for forgetting (or not knowing in the first place) just what Hanamiya is capable of.

Maybe he should congratulate Koujirou for saying a Tumblr worthy quote.

The game continues, but Seirin has been tangled in the web. They won't be able to get out. After all, eventually, all teams can be broken down into their basic components, no matter how flashy or fancy their plays may seem. Seirin's style is his most hated one-team basketball based heavily on high-level passing, most likely due to the shitty brat who can't seem to do anything _but_ pass. Well, before.

Too bad for them though, team basketball is fucking _predictable_. It's so _boring_ to play, which is why Hanamiya himself never tried to teach his own team in that way. After all, play team basketball, and the same gags will be recycled over and over. No surprises, no skill, just some ridiculous idea of "trust" or whatever the fuck people like Seirin spout.

And really, if Hanamiya were that type of person, he'd actually feel _bad_ for the amount of times he steals Pervert Eye's passes. Honestly, the dickhead just doesn't know when to _stop trying_. It pisses him off when he sees people like that, and that's part of the reason as to why he feels no regret whenever he sees the despair on Pervert Eye's face get etched deeper and deeper and deeper.

_It's so cute, to see them struggle and struggle harder, only to find themselves even more tangled than before._

Hanamiya is _far_ from done with the absolute _gold mine_ that is Seirin.

"It's a comeback!"

"What's going on with Seirin?"

"They've had the ball stolen every time!"

Hanamiya wonders if shouting at the crowd to shut their filthy, bitching assholes up because shit isn't supposed to pour from their fucking mouths would be a good idea.

He decides that he wants to mess with Seirin much more than he wants to gain momentary satisfaction from scaring the shit out of the entire stadium (though now that he thinks about it, the latter situation is starting to become more and more appealing by the second).

Even if people try to guess, they'll never quite figure out the secret to Hanamiya's Spider Web. They can discover the way Kentarou works together with Hanamiya to reduce potential pass courses. They can realize how Kentarou helps Hanamiya steal every single pass, no matter if Hanamiya's physical stature allows for it or not. They can even go so far as to realize that the rough play was nothing more than a warmup, a simply _divine_ form of foreplay that reduces those who stand in his way into nothing more than walking bundles of primal rage, where their thinking slows to a halt and they become even more fucking predictable than before.

But they'll never figure it out. If they do, they'll be able to replicate it. And Hanamiya, for all his apathy when it comes to things like this, will _definitely_ make sure that this is the one thing that only he can do.

_After all, the secret is locked within a genius's spider web._

The buzzer sounds as the end of the third quarter is signaled. The score is 47-58 with Kirisaki Daīchi in favor. Seirin's done for. They're nothing but mangles prey stuck in the sticky threads of the web that his genius has concocted.

What can one shitty brat do when faced against him?

"Damn it!"

Hanamiya's smirk widens at the Pervert Eye's snarl, followed by the thumping of his hands on the bench. He'll never get tired of the sweet taste of honey that basketball brings upon people.

Seirin's bench looks like the epitome of "losing all hope." Slumped shoulders, grim expressions, tensed muscles-they all makes Hanamiya want to laugh because _damn, this is what he loves to see and what he loves to do_.

Basketball is just a means to an end. _It pisses him off when there are people who pretend like it isn't._

"You're in a good mood."

Hanamiya's lips curl as he lols his head to the side to look up at Koujirou, who's eyes have reverted back to their original dead state. " _I'm in a good mood_ -of course I'm in a fucking good mood. Fucking shits like them should be ground into the dirt. I'm just doing the world a favor."

"An eleven point difference," Koujirou states in a not-so-subtle change in subject. "Despite shutting down their offense completely."

"Number seven't the problem," Hiroshi chimes in, capping his water bottle. Hanamiya's face darkens at the mention of the King of Spineless Bitches. "His offensive plays and rebounds are no joke."

A sharp giggle leaves him, and his team turns towards him. "Then there's no problem. Kiyoshi's _covered_ in wounds. One more push, and it's goodbye."

The final quarter begins, and Hanamiya's smile cannot be any wider, because he's just _itching_ to make Seirin's faces and the floors life-long acquaintances-friends, even, if they meet enough times. The only thing that could possibly bring him down now is the sight of the King of Spineless Bitches walking on court with a determined fire in his eyes that looks like it was copy and pasted onto the rest of his teammates' eyes. (Even the fucking bench warmers are trying to stare Hanamiya down, and he isn't sure whether to hiss at them or to laugh at how fucking adorable they are.)

Then he notices that there's one person who's been on the bench for almost an entire quarter who isn't there now and there she is, walking in with that annoyingly blank face while adjusting her wristband. It's not like she can do anything anyways-but maybe he should be somewhat grateful for this because now he can _finally_ do something about that thorn in his side.

Pervert Eye starts off with the ball, and a trickle of doubt briefly enters Hanamiya because even though he's an arrogant jackass, he's a _smart_ arrogant jackass, which means that he can see the calmness in Pervert Eye's movements when he was all worked up into a frenzy not so long ago, and he can see that Seirin still has a _reason_ for using him even though he's been shut down long ago and-

_I already know everything, you idiot. You're going to pass to the King of Spineless Bitches next. But-_

_Fuck._

She appears right before him and before he can even graze the surface of the ball with his fingertips, she has redirected the ball, and hanamiya's widened eyes follow its course where an equally surprised Tony the Tiger wannabe just barely manages to grab it before it goes out-of-bounds. He makes a basket, and Hanamiya can only stand silently on the court as Seirin roars to life.

"He made it!"

"All right!"

"Yeah!" Tony the Tiger wannabe and the King of Spineless Bitches clasp their hands together, and Hanamiya wants to barf, but this time he almost actually _does_ because _someone broke his web._

_Kuroko. Tetsuya. Broke. His. Web._

As if sensing his thoughts, she glances at him out of the corner of her eyes. Without saying another word she turns and jogs back to her side of the court and Hanamiya balls his fists.

 _How fucking_ dare _she? She goes on all about team play and winning together and fucking boring_ honest play _and then she just goes ahead and breaks it-how fucking_ dare _she?_

_Why do I care about that?_

Hanamiya can't do anything. His perfect web is dissolving so quickly. Each one of the painstakingly strung threads are being broken off, snapped in half without a care in the world. It's disintegrating before his eyes, and he can't do anything to rebuild it.

Every single pass he tries to intercept, she's there, pushing it in a completely different direction. Her teammates score basket after basket, the points starting to wrack up and he _hates_ it, he _loathes_ it, he can't _stand_ it.

Halfway through the fourth quarter, the score is 55-60 in Kirisaki Daīchi's favor.

Hanamiya snarls, and his team knows what he wants. Four-Eyes attempts to make another three-pointer, and Hanamiya has to be grateful for the fact that he keeps missing, because otherwise the fate of Kirisai Daīchi would be sealed. The ball bounces off the rim as Kentarou and Koujirou jostle the King of Spineless Bitches as hard as they can while Hanamiya runs interference. Koujirou grabs the rebound and passes it.

_"Seirin, time out."_

"So annoying, so annoying, so annoying..." Hanamiya breathes under his breath as he comes to a stop at the bench. His vision is tinted red, and he can't be bothered to fucking care because _this isn't going the way he planned._

 _I don't fucking care about stupid shit like protection or_ trust _. What do fuck do they even mean when they say "trust?" It's annoying as hell. I won't be satisfied until I break them_ all _._

Starting with the shitty bitch.

The game starts again. The King of Spineless Bitches is on the bench this time, and it looks like the Mime is on court. Hanamiya scoffs as his team gets into position. _Ridiculous. At least provide us with_ some _entertainment._

The ball makes it to Four-Eyes, who misses another three-pointer. Kentarou grabs the rebound and passes it to Hiroshi, who's immediately marked by Four-Eyes, looking especially eager-probably trying to redeem himself.

Four-Eyes, amazingly, manages to take the ball, rushing down court. "Mitobe!"

Hanamiya sneers, cutting in between Four-Eyes and the place where the Mime and Kentarou are struggling. Four-Eyes pulls up short, and Hanamiya _loves_ the way his expression changes from determined to wary, angry, and slightly terrified. "You think you can do anything without Kiyoshi?" The taunt seems to work as Four-Eyes grits his teeth. Hanamiya continues, more for his own pleasure than for the sake of strategy. "Who's next after that piece of shit?"

"I'm going to get you, Hanamiya," Four-Eyes snarls, and Hanamiya only laughs. "I promise you won't get away with this!"

"You? Get me?" Hanamiya crows, easily catching up with Four-Eyes's attempt to break past him, pushing the ball out of his grip. "Not now, not ever!"

The two race after the ball, which is headed out-of-bounds. Before either of them can reach it, it rolls across the line. The whistle blows. _"Out of bounds! White ball!"_

The two come to a stop in front of Seirin's bench, where the King of Spineless Bitches picks up the basketball. The two Seirin members stare into each other's eyes, and Hanamiya starts thinking that he's a secret character in one of those yaoi mangas his sister loves so much (maybe he could tell his life story and sell it for millions-now, _that_ sounds like an interesting idea).

Hanamiya snorts, walking away from the pair who still haven't stopped staring. Pervert Eye runs up, taking the ball from the King of Spineless Bitches. Four-Eyes finally makes a move, coming back on court as Hanamiya moves to mark him. He hates the smile that appears on Four-Eyes face, and especially the way his shoulders are slowly relaxing, slowly uncoiling, and Hanamiya's not one to care about bullshit foreshadowing or to even think of the possibility of him not winning, but-

Shit's about to hit the fan.

The ball is thrown in and the shitty brat gets to it before Hanamiya can. Four-Eyes, who managed to escape both him and Koujirou, grabs the ball, and Hanamiya swears violently (even more so than before) in his head as the ball leaves Four-Eyes's fingers and arcs through the air.

_It can't miss._

The ball doesn't touch the rim as it sinks into the basket, and the entire gym explodes into cheers.

"All right!"

"He made a three!"

Hanamiya takes possession of the ball, ducking around Pervert Eye in an attempt to pass when he shifts. _This guy..._ Just as Hanamiya manages to finally break through Pervert Eye's suddenly tight defense, the ball is slammed out of his hand and he whirls around to catch a glimpse of blue hair before Pervert Eye takes the errant ball and passes it to Four-Eyes.

Koujirou jumps too early, trying to block a three that never comes. Four-Eyes immediately bounces it past his feet towards Pervert Eye, who makes a quick layup.

Kazuya picks up the ball, his face for once not pulled into that ridiculously happy smile (Hanamiya has always suspected that _something_ is laced into that boy's bubblegum).

Hanamiya is an arrogant jackass, but he's a _smart_ arrogant jackass. One who knows when to admit defeat (no matter how much he doesn't want to).

The shitty brat began to unravel the strands of the web and Four-Eyes managed to cut Seirin free. _His masterpiece is ruined_.

He knows when to admit defeat. _But he doesn't want to._

_He hates that._

Hanamiya passes the ball to Kentarou, who makes a quick basket.

_He doesn't understand why he wants to fight so hard._

"Let's get it back!"

"We're making a comeback!"

"Hyuuga-senpai's three!"

"The Winter Cup is right in front of us!"

_For something he utterly despises._

"Damn it," Hiroshi grumbles.

"Bastard," Kazuya adds, bubblegum having long been abandoned.

"Hanamiya?"

The teen in question ignores Koujirou's slightly concerned question as a smile curls his lips and his eyes widen. _It's really...all her fault, isn't it?_

The game starts again with Koujirou in possession of the ball. Hanamiya doesn't even have to say anything for his team to understand what he wants to do as he makes his way towards the shitty bitch. Hiroshi easily screens Pervert Eye who was coming after Hanamiya. "Switch!"

Koujirou tosses the ball languidly towards Hanamiya, who catches it solidly. He glances down to his side where the shitty bitch stands, eyes wide, arm outstretched. Her left wrist is instinctively closer to her body, positioned in such a way so that she can quickly jerk it out of danger if need be. Unfortunately, the place where he's currently standing at won't allow him to further explore this epiphany he had. No, hell need to aim somewhere else.

_Somewhere just as painful._

There's no better time to test old rumors out than here, right?

"This is ridiculous," Hanamiya sneers, raising his arm. "It's all...It's all your fucking fault!"

His eyes widen further as he raises his arms higher in the air before bringing them down, his elbow sticking out at the perfect angle.

"Kuroko!"

Hanamiya's grin widens as he gets an eyeful of her expression: eyes wide, pupils dilated, trembling in fear. She's absolutely petrified. He's never seen anything like this on a girl so seemingly devoid of emotions, and this tastes even _better_ than honey.

_He's drunk._

Maybe he should start putting more stock into rumors. "Can you play without your eyes, Kuroko Tetsuya?" Hanamiya taunts as his elbow comes cracking down-

Onto her cheek with a sickening snap.

Hanamiya makes an irritated clicking sound in the back of her throat as she crumples onto the ground, the place where his elbow had connected with her cheek already starting to bruise. He ignores the stinging in his own elbow as the whistle blows shrilly and the shitty bitch's teammates run on court, pushing Hanamiya out of the way. Four-Eyes rushes up to him, grabbing onto the neck of his jersey, but Hanamiya doesn't even bother to play around the way he usually does, instead roughly brushing the other's hands away before storming off.

It's annoying that she managed to avoid being broken.

It's even more annoying when the shitty bitch rises, ignoring all of her teammates' protests as she adamantly insists on continuing to play. Even the referee and the medics ask her to go off court, but she, for once, rudely ignores them in favor of stumbling back into position. She looks like she can barely stand, much less play, but even a stranger (even Hanamiya) can tell that someone would have to kill her before she left this court without finishing the game.

Her blue eyes are still wide with fear as they meet Hanamiya's, but this time, a wealth of fury wracks her frame, and not even Hanamiya can escape the cold chill that runs down everyone's spine as she says, only loud enough for those on court to hear, "You will learn to rue the day you decided pick up a basketball and dirty this court with your foul play, Hanamiya Makoto."

The whistle blows, albeit a bit quieter and far more hesitant before.

Hanamiya sneers, clenching his teeth. "Piece of shit. If only you weren't here..." He presses his lips together, trembling with a confusing mix of anger, despair, absolute fury, madness, and mirth before jerking up eyes wide as he laughs, unhinged. "Just kidding, baaaka!"

He easily breaks past the shitty bitch, who recoiled just slightly as his exclamation. When Four-Eyes and the Mime run up to stop him, he pauses before leaping backward, falling into a familiar stance. He twists his wrist, before flicking it, the ball easily clearing the fignertips of the two pieces of trash before him as it slowly arcs through the air, dropping into the basket.

Hanamiya wants to laugh at the stunned silence that his last move left Seirin in. He would feel insulted if he were that type of person, but he doesn't crave their approval. _When has he ever?_ "You thought all I could do was play aggressively and steal the ball, right? Of course not, baaakas. Even without tricks, I can score whenever I want." His tongue slips out as his eyes laugh at them. "Honestly, I'm disappointed that I couldn't crush you completely, but whatever. If I win, either way, it's game over for your dreams." Forty-five seconds left in the fourth quarter with the score being 69-70 in Kirisaki Daīchi's favor. "It'll be the end of your disgusting little game of friendship, too."

"Don't be ridiculous." The last person that Hanamiya could've ever expected to speak up _does_.

"Huh?" he drawls, glancing towards the side where the shitty bitch is. He tries to pretend that the shiver that runs through him is one of laughter over the ridiculousness of the dark expression on her face. She pulls her right arm back, holding the ball in a death grip. The bruise has darkened and spread across her cheek, the blackish purple color standing out starkly against her pale skin and light blue hair.

"I chose to fight because I thought that the Generation of Miracles' basketball is wrong. But they'd _never_ do anything so underhanded like what you do. With your style, don't get in the way of our, of my senpai-tachi's, of _everyone's_ dreams!"

The quiet girl whose voice he can barely hear over the screaming of the gym normally screams her last words, and before he understands what's going on, she's dribbling past him with a speed that's faster than what she's been running at throughout the entire game. He should've been able to easily stop her (even though she's faster, it isn't incredibly fast), but when he whirls around to follow, he feels a sharp pain lance through his hips, ankles, and shoulders, and he's on the floor, staring up at her retreating back as she races for the basket.

_Impossible...this is just like..._

He really should start putting more stock into rumors.

The shitty bitch does the same thing to Kazuya, who lands with a sickening crack reminiscent of the sound that accompanied Hanamiya's jab at her face, and she hands the ball to the Tony the Tiger wannabe, who doesn't hesitate to jam the ball into the basket.

"Another comeback!"

"Amazing!"

"We're not done yet!" Four-Eyes shouts. "Don't let up until the last second!"

"Yeah!"

Kirisaki Daīchi falls into shambles. There's nothing that any of them can do as the shitty bitch redirects every single pass before Hanamiya can even set eyes on the ball, as Pervert Eye and Four-Eyes make a continuous stream of threes, and the Tony the Tiger wannabe grabs rebound after rebound, not giving either Kazuya or Kentarou any room.

The buzzer sounds as Four-Eyes's last three sinks into the net, and the scoreboard freezes at 76-70.

In favor of Seirin.

A moment of silence follows the buzzer before the entire gym roars to life, screaming as if Seirin has just won the Winter Cup, and that's when it hits Hanamiya-he lost.

He lost to a team that had been made into a masterpiece just last year.

_"It means that they're done."_

"We're going to the Winter Cup!"

_Fuck._

Hanamiya slowly walks up to the celebrating team. They all turn towards him, the noise dying down, as if they're waiting.

_It sickens him._

"I lost, Seirin. And Kiyoshi...I'm sorry for everything." The moment of surprise is all Hanamiya needs for him to raise his head and snarl, "Like I'd ever say that, baka! You're the first ones to ruin my plans this badly. I'll make you regret it for the rest of your lives." His smile widens as his eyes widen, an almost fanatical note entering his voice and _he loves it, he loves their expressions_. "Next time, I'll _crush_ you!"

"Hanamiya..." The teen in question directs a sneer towards the speaker, who only smiles slightly in responds. "That last shot you made...I thought it was amazing."

 _Done. He can't accept that. He lives for perfection. He_ craves _it. This-this cannot be done._

_It just crumbled to dust._

"Let's play again."

"Don't be ridiculous," Hanamiya breathes, pouring every last bit of hatred and bitterness and ugly, ugly feelings that he _never_ wants to acknowledge, _ever_ , into his voice, "Damn it. Damn you. I fucking hate all of you."

_This year, it's over._

* * *

Hanamiya finds himself wandering through Tokyo, not really in the mood to head back home just yet. The rest of his team left rather quickly, and even though they don't look or aren't acing any different from usual, Hanamiya can tell that all of them, even Kentarou, are affected by the loss.

_Too affected._

Hanamiya, though he'll never admit it to anyone, much less himself, feels just as affected. Even though he's never done it before, even though he's never _wanted_ to do it before, he finds himself replaying every single second of the game, finds himself regretting and wondering just what would be different had he done this or that, finds himself _acting like he fucking cares that he lost a basketball game._

Because he doesn't. He doesn't care, he doesn't even _like_ basketball. The only reason why he even bothers to play is because with it, he can access hardworking people-and crush them to the ground.

_So why isn't he at home instead of walking around Tokyo like some sort of pussy?_

A sudden sound breaks the monotonous buzzing of traffic and crowds of people walking through the streets, and Hanamiya glances up. He realizes that he's in the park, which is surprisingly empty. It may be night, but this park is usually full of annoying brats running around without a care in the world, not knowing that eventually they'll grow up, and they'll no longer be able to spend time in this haven.

The sound is quickly followed by a succession of similar echoes, and without even thinking about it, he follows. After all, it's not like Hanamiya has anything better to do.

He immediately regrets the decision.

The sound is coming from the tennis section of the park, and when he walks around the courts, he finds a wall and a girl.

A very familiar-looking girl.

He stands in the shadows for a few moments, just observing her. Her movements are fluid and effortless, following a beat that only she can hear as she hits the tennis ball against the wall. She really does have the figure of a nine-year-old boy, but even Hanamiya has to admit that there's a certain attractive quality about the way her tanned skin gleams under the street lights and how the green tint of her dark hair contrasts nicely against the rest of her appearance. She has muscle, too, lean and wiry, stretched so tightly across her skin that if not for her movement, he probably wouldn't have noticed at all.

Earlier, she had been wearing a light jacket, but now, it's sitting on a bench under a tree to the side. As a result, he can see her bared arms, and his eyes narrow when he sees bruises peppering a good half of her flesh. He might seem like a bit of a hypocrite, especially considering what he had just tried to do to the shitty bitch during the match, but not even he is a horrible enough person to stand for the mistreatment of other women (there are just a few exceptions-for example, Kuroko Tetsuya, who won't _shut up about her stupid fucking ideals because Hanamiya doesn't fucking care, so why does she keep shoving her beliefs down his throat like she believes that she can fucking change him?_ ). No one understands the wounds that come from intentional hits the way he does, and he can tell, very easily, that whatever caused those round markings on her skin was caused _on purpose._

She may be an annoying prepubescent preaching motherfucker, but he sure doesn't condone mindless violence against females, especially when off court. (But don't even think about calling him a nice guy-he just has a fucking skewed sense of justice.)

"Who gave those to you?" Hanamiya asks bluntly, casually strolling into the little practice area. She jumps slightly before composing herself, catching the ball just as it almost hits her in the face (it's a good thing that it didn't, because it looked like it packed a lot of power).

She turns in place, putting her back to the wall, golden eyes gleaming warily. Even when they land on him, they don't relax. "Oh, it's you."

Hanamiya snorts, walking over to the bench and reaching into the bag. He pulls out a racket, pretending to examine it while watching for her reaction out of the corner of his eye. She doesn't seem too bothered by it, other than the slight tightening of her grip on the ball and the identical racket in her hand. "What is it, let's all show that we have no fucking manners day? Why wasn't I informed?"

"There was no need to because you have no manners either way," she replies, still watching him with those wary eyes of her.

"Really, I'm quite _flattered_ that you think so highly of me. Since you've pointed out a _wonderful_ trait of mine, why don't you allow me to do the same?" Hanamiya's eyes glint, and the girl seems more than a bit hesitant, even though she slowly nods her head. Hanamiya sets the racket down on the bench before prowling over to her, reaching out and poking one of the bruises on her bicep. She flinches just slightly. "These bruises of your's are caused by direct contact between your skin and a tennis ball, one that was most likely aimed there on purpose. From the coloring and your reaction just now, I can safely assume that these are fresh, maybe even just a few hours old, which then tells me that you're _used_ to this type of abuse-"

"I'm not being abused!"

"-which is why you're here playing tennis when most people would be licking their wounds and crying pathetically to their friends about the mean bullies that got to them. Which brings me to my next point-you're not being _bullied_. Even though I hardly know you, and I'd like to keep it that way, I can already tell that you're one who won't take shit from anyone. Most likely, someone close to you has been intentionally hurting you for quite some time, and you're not willing to speak up for yourself, considering your interruption. So that leaves the question, who is doing this, and why? The answer to the first question is rather simple-someone in your family, or a friend who you consider to be 'family,' because you feel as if you have a sense of obligation due to them-for what, I'm not sure, but that's up to you to decide. However, I don't have any answers to the second question. Would you care to elaborate?"

She stares silently at him for one beat, then two, and then a snort leaves her. Within seconds, her entire body is shaking as she laughs. Hanamiya watches in slight amusement and slight annoyance as she slowly crumples to the ground, the mirth in her voice quickly turning into hysteria. During this time, he wonders just what he's doing here and why he's bothering to do this, and that's when he remembers that she had technically tried to warn him-

Though most likely not in his interest.

When she finally quiets down, she looks up at him with tears in her eyes, and for some reason, he feels merciful enough to ignore them. "Why do you care?"

"It's not really because of you," Hanamiya answers bluntly, "and it's not really because I care. I don't even know why I'm still here. But today...today has been..."

Hanamiya doesn't bother to finish the sentence. (He's never opened up so quickly to someone before, not even to people who have known him for more than half of his life, and he wonders just what's so special about this girl that makes him want to sit and talk-even if most of what he says is going to be aimed at making her feel like absolute shit.)

"I don't particularly like you, but you're funny." She completely ignores his question, but to be honest, he doesn't really care. He's just glad that she didn't turn this into a sob fest over whatever horrible past she has. (That's something that he'd only be able to stomach with seven bottles of bourbon and maybe a few shots of tequila-that is, if he doesn't knock her out before he starts on the booze.) "I'm Echizen Ryoma."

Hanamiya snorts before smiling slightly. _Maybe, just maybe, he'll talk to her again._ "Hanamiya Makoto."

"Can I just keep calling you Hippo San?"

"What?"

"Because you're like the third hypocrite in my life."

"...Who are the first two?"

"You should come and visit my school once, I think that you guys will throw a fucking party."

"What school do you go to?"

"Rakuzan."

"The school for rich snobs and elitists. Your crowd."

"I know, it's so weird. And the amount of favoritism they show basketball is horrific."

"Aren't you supposed to be in school, anyways?"

"I skipped to watch the Winter Cup prelims since Tetsu's in them, and I was supposed to head back today."

"But?"

"Oyaji made my stay."

"What?" Mock gasp of indignation. "Doesn't he care about your education?"

"He'd much rather have me competing in tennis tournaments abroad than going to school."

"Can't blame him."

"Shut up."

"You know, I might stab you in the back one day."

"Good to know."

"I think that this will be the start of a wonderful friendship."

Hanamiya doesn't let his surprise show when Echizen Ryoma gives him a genuine smile in response. "Me too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko Tetsuya: 11  
> Kagami Taiga: 10  
> Kiyoshi Teppei: 7  
> Hyuuga Junpei: 4  
> Izuki Shun: 5
> 
> Hanamiya Makoto: 4  
> Furuhashi Koujirou: 7  
> Hara Kazuya: 10  
> Seto Kentarou: 5  
> Yamazaki Hiroshi: 8  
> Matsumoto Itsuki: 12


	12. Twelfth: Rebels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ton of exposition coming up ahead, and some answers (not all, because cheap tension ;p).
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Echizen isn't sure why oyaji hasn't come into her room yet, but she's not complaining. She's still half-awake, having finally been able to enjoy her freedom of extra sleep to its fullest for the first time on her little impromptu "break." The only thing she regrets about staying in Tokyo longer than she had originally planned is that she won't be able to meet up with her senpai-tachi. To be perfectly honest, she has missed them, even Suke-senpai and Mura-senpai (although the latter is a point of strong contention).

She's most grateful that none of them have yet stormed her house (they _have_ blown up her phone with text messages and voice mails, all of which range from late last night to early this morning until they completely filled her inbox and storage-she's _definitely_ going to be forcing them to wade through all that spam when she gets back, it's their fault in the first place), demanding why she's not back at Rakuzan. She's long since accepted their overprotective natures, and she has to admit that, on occasion, she even _enjoys_ that aspect of her relationships with them, but there are times, such as now, when she's peacefully somewhat asleep, that she finds herself enjoying the alone time, in which nobody is trying to get her attention or get her to do something or just talk to her, in general.

The peace and alone time doesn't last for long.

The sound of someone pounding on the door interrupts the quietude, and Echizen immediately pulls her pillow over her head, hoping that oyaji, whatever he's doing, will get the door, but she should've known when she found herself sleeping past the usual six sharp. _He's not here._

Normally that would have her breathing a sigh of relief, but considering that the fact that he's not here is interrupting the sleep that she hardly gets anymore, what with living in a dorm in Rakuzan and the constant tennis practices she has with oyaji, she's not particularly inclined to do so.

Grumbling, Echizen finally rolls out of her bed, one of the few things that aren't worn down or broken in this dump and lands on the floor with a loud thump. It's a good thing that a cushion of clothing (whether dirty or not) is keeping her from touching the no doubt filthy ground.

Several things have happened since Nanako left, one of them being the sudden lack of hygiene and basic sanitation of this place. Neither Echizen nor oyaji have ever been versed in the art of cleaning up after themselves, and with Echizen moving out to spend the majority of the year in Rakuzan's dorm, it's no wonder that the place went to shit.

Echizen has never particularly cared-as long as she can sleep well, use a bathroom, and cook food, she has no qualms against living in a literal junkyard. If she can keep this a secret from her teammates and even some of her ex-acquaintances (of which most are healthy young men who apparently seem to care about her for whatever particular reason), then all the better.

As far as she knows, only two people know of her current living situation, and the more she thinks about it as she throws on a random pair of shorts and a long-sleeved shirt, the more she's convinced that it's _him_.

Of _course_ he'd be the type to meddle in her business-even when, no _especially_ since she told him that it really isn't _any_ of his. She probably could've chosen better words to make sure that this current situation isn't happening, but she was pissed off and depressed at the time-and to begin with, her mouth never did have a filter.

After Echizen makes sure that she looks relatively presentable (it's one thing for people to see her as an arrogant brat who can whoop all their asses in tennis, it's another for them to see her as a brat who just woke up and couldn't be bothered to change out of her pajamas-she does have _some_ sense of common courtesy, no matter what _some_ people may think), she trudges down the stairs and to the front door, making sure to position herself in such a way to keep prying eyes away from the interior of the place. Once she's relatively satisfied, she throws the door open, a scowl pulling at her lips as she gets ready to rip into Akashi Seijūrō for first thinking that it's all right to pry into something that she very clearly stated is _none of his damn business_ and then having the _gall_ to _interrupt her sleep when she hasn't been able to sleep past six int he morning for the past year_ -

When she freezes in place as she meets, not a pair of heterochromatic eyes, but a pair of blank blue ones.

Huh. She didn't expect this.

"Tetsu?" Echizen finally chokes out, confusion coloring her tone as her eyes travel over the powder blue head of her newest friend (is she a friend? Echizen would like to _think_ that she is) to the group of boys standing behind her, spilling off the porch and onto the lawn. Echizen can immediately tell that they're trying their hardest to keep their eyes off of their dismal surroundings by gawking at her, but some of them aren't doing a particularly good job (especially the ones that she saw constantly sitting on the bench during all the game-first years who didn't make the regulars, maybe? She _does_ remember hearing something along the lines of Seirin being a really small club. That's probably why they can afford to have all of their non-regular members on the bench). "What are you doing here? And why did you bring your entire team with you?"

Tetsu glances back at her team before looking at Echizen. Despite the fact that Echizen is standing on a relatively higher step than the older girl, their faces are still at about the same level. _And she's considered small for her age...WHAT DOES THAT MAKE ME?_ "Seirin was planning to have a team outing to the hot springs."

Echizen raises an eyebrow, stepping forward when she notices that some of the members are trying to take a look within the house. "And...what does that have to do with me?"

"Would you like to join us?"

Echizen blinks before glancing towards the person who's probably in charge of the entire thing, the only other girl standing there. "And you guys are okay with this?"

The coach blinks, as if surprised at being addressed. Echizen wonders why-after all, she's the _coach_. "Uh...yeah, yeah, it's totally fine! After all, you're one of Kuroko-chan's friends! We couldn't possibly exclude you from a celebration of Seirin's victory!"

"You aren't busy, are you?" Tetsu asks, and Echizen can just barely detect a hint of concern in her bland tone. "I asked my cousin, and he said that you would be free, but I do hope that you aren't troubled by this intrusion."

Echizen scowls, crossing her arms. "Your cousin-" For some reason, Tetsu wants to keep the relation between her and Seijūrō a secret. Echizen isn't quite sure why, but she'll play along for now. "-needs to be introduced to a muzzle and a PSA about my rights to speak for myself. But yes, I am free. And no, I won't be going."

Tetsu blinks before quickly grabbing hold of the door that Echizen is just about to swing closed. "You're free. What better things do you have to do?"

"I don't know, sleep? Play tennis? Sleep some more?"

"You do that on a regular basis."

"Well, I just happen to enjoy living the simple life. Besides, I wouldn't want to intrude on team bonding-"

"You won't be intruding. Most of the team will be on the boy's side anyways. Coach Aida and I could use a little female company."

Echizen sighs, already knowing that Tetsu's version of wheedling is starting to wear down on her. It's kind of ridiculous, how Echizen feels like she knows exactly what Tetsu's feeling and what she's thinking despite her mask, even though the two have only met less than a week ago. Still, that's the amazing thing about Tetsu. She's somehow like the glue that keeps everything together-often overlooked, but an integral part of the beauty of the whole picture. Echizen can't help but be drawn to her. "I don't even play basketball."

The other girl, Aida, apparently, jumps in at this point, interest sparking in her eyes. "What does basketball have anything to do with the hot springs? We all just want to have fun and relax, and as they say, the more the merrier! Besides, I'm a little bit interested-you said that you play tennis?"

Echizen lets out another sigh before nodding in response to Aida's question. "Yeah, I do. Do I have to bring anything, Tetsu?"

Tetsu's facial muscles don't even twitch, but Echizen _swears_ that the girl is beaming from ear to ear as she replies, "Just a change of clothes should be fine. The place should provide towels and toiletries."

"How much money-"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Aida cuts Echizen off before she can even finish the sentence. "All of the expenses are being covered by the school. I'm sure that the principal won't mind paying for an extra ticket, right?"

None of the people present seem to be willing to disagree with her.

Echizen sighs once more before turning around. "I'll be back in a few. Please show yourselves out. And don't go exploring."

The door shuts with finality and Echizen groans, running her hands over her face.

_What the hell did I just get myself into?_

* * *

Echizen ignores all the stares that are directed towards her as she greets Kiyoshi with a, "Nice to see you again. How're your injuries?"

Kioyshi blinks before grinning brightly, lifting his hand and giving her a thumbs up. "The doctor said that other than taking it easy, I should be all set for the Winter Cup."

_So this trip is just as much for you as it is for the team, huh?_

"Kiyoshi-senpai, you know her?" Bakaga is the one to voice what everyone seems to be thinking, and both Kiyoshi and Echizen turn in unison to stare at him. As they continue to bore their eyes into his skull, his eye begins twitching until he's slowly backing away, hands raised in the surrendering position. "All right, okay, I'm sorry?"

Kiyoshi breaks into a bright grin as Echizen glances away, shouldering her tennis bag (which she brought, despite the fact that there won't be any tennis courts at the hot springs. There will be some walls, though). "No worries! I met her during my hospitalization, actually."

Aida narrows her eyes, and just as she opens her mouth to ask, Kiyoshi shoots her a warning look. Echizen lets out a silent exhalation of relief when she backs off, confusion still swimming in her eyes.

After piling into one train car together, Echizen finds herself sandwiched in between Kiyoshi and Bakaga, the latter currently attempting to engage Tetsu in conversation (attempting because Tetsu responds with monosyllables and Bakaga isn't the type to accept paltry answers). Kiyoshi also makes a few tries at small talk, but when Echizen merely ignores every nicety that comes out of his mouth, he turns to the side to provoke Hyuuga-something about a high-five at the end of the Kirisaki Daīchi match, whatever that means.

However, she's somewhat grateful for that, because now she remembers that she happens to have Makoto's number in her phone (after spending a good portion of last night just talking nonsense, the guy practically forced his number down her throat while demanding her to not call him "Hippo San"). Fishing the device out of her bag, she attempts to wade through the bog of messages written in caps lock and panicked voicemails that she has enough sense to avoid listening to, lest she wants her eardrums to be blown out before their time. After managing to whittle down the ridiculous amount to a somewhat reasonable level, she scrolls through her contacts to find Makoto's number. Without much of a plan, she types out a simple, "hey," and sends it to him.

When her phone doesn't vibrate with an incoming response, she begins her arduous task of replying to each and every one of her fellow tennis players, those on her current team and those who aren't (three words: damn Suke-senpai). She may as well get it over with, considering that she's pretty sure that a good majority of them aren't beyond calling the police.

The moment she types out a quick, bluntly worded message to Suke-senpai, her phone buzzes as his caller ID scrolls across the screen. Echizen ignores the way Seirin turns collectively to watch her as she rolls her eyes and answers. "I'm alive, no need to make such a fuss out of it."

"Ryo-chan, where are you?"

"Oyaji made me stay in Tokyo. Besides, break, which, by the way, is ridiculously long, starts tomorrow, so it's not like I'm missing that much."

"But practice is so _boring_ without you!"

"Yeah, well, find someone else to torture for the time being. You can come visit when you're back in Tokyo tomorrow, so stop blowing up my phone with your ridiculous texts."

"I was just worried that-"

"I can take care of myself just fine, thank you very much. These past few days without you have been sheer bliss."

"You wound me so."

"Tell the rest of the team that I'm fine, and don't you dare even _think_ about contacting me until tomorrow, or I'll make you infertile."

Without bothering to wait for his response, Echizen hangs up and shoves her phone back into her bag, once again steadfastly ignoring the wide-eyed stares that are directed her way. She is very much aware of what her side of the conversation without context must've sounded like to them, and to be honest, they can wonder all they want but they'll never get answers. She's sure that at least one of them has heard of Suke-senpai's name-hell, if she bothered to tell them her full name, they'd probably recognize her as well. Tennis has grown in popularity, and one doesn't have to be an avid sports fan to hear the little things.

Rumors about junior high kids who can play at the level of professionals? There isn't a single person in Japan who hasn't at least heard of one of Echizen's reluctantly dubbed "friends."

Which makes her all the more glad that neither Tetsu nor Kiyoshi had introduced her to the team (although normally it would be considered a social faux pas, but let's be real here-Echizen doesn't give a fuck).

However, that gratefulness doesn't last long.

"Ano..."

"Echizen Ryoma," Tetsu supplies, and Echizen whips her head to the side to give the blue-haired girl a dark glower. It's as if she read her mind.

"Echizen Ryoma..." Aida murmurs, a frown forming on her face as Echizen lets out a long groan, shrinking back into her seat.

_Three._

"That name sounds very familiar..."

_Two._

"And now that I think about it, you look pretty familiar too..."

_One._

"Where have I seen you?"

_She's so screwed._

"Ah!" Surprisingly, it isn't Aida who exclaims, but one of the constantly benched players. Up close, she can see that he has a buzz cut that reminds her a bit of Ryou's short haircut, except this guy's is much closer to the scalp. "I remember where I've heard of your name before." Echizen lets out another groan as she catches sight of the sparkling sheen glistening over his eyes. "Echizen Ryoma. You're the first woman and the youngest player ever to compete in the men's section of the US Open!"

Gasps follow the boy's exclamation, and to Echizen's utter horror and despair, he doesn't just stop there. "You're practically guaranteed a spot in the professional circuits by the time you graduate high school, and you're considered one of the world's greatest tennis prodigies of the century! You managed to skip two years and test perfectly into Rakuzan, not to mention securing your spot as a regular within a week of stepping foot on campus. You're a part of an enormous network of tennis stars, some of them being high schoolers just like you, others being veterans in the business. It's rumored that you're even going to be playing all of the Grand Slam tournaments throughout the course of your high school education-in the men's section, no less. You're practically a _legend_!"

By the time the boy stops to take a deep breath, his cheeks her flushed and his voice has raised at least three octaves in pitch. Fortunately, only Seirin is in this compartment other than a sleeping figure tucked into the corner, so only Seirin can listen as one of their members practically pours her entire life story out of his mouth.

_You are fucked, Kuroko Tetsuya._

Echizen forces a smile onto her face, though it's more of a warning than a nicety. "Wow, I'm so _honored_ that you know who I am. Pray tell me _where_ you found out all that information?"

The boy, seeming to sense her less than stellar mood, shrinks back, the sparkles in his eyes dimming as he eyes her somewhat warily. "Uh...interviews? News articles? Websites? Magazines?"

Echizen's smile falls into a scowl as she glowers down at the ground. "Damn paparazzi. I thought that news wouldn't get out about that until I actually arrived in London. Now oyaji's going to throw a big hissy fit..."

"Is that true?"

Echizen blinks, glancing to the side where Tetsu is staring back at her. The former would've thought that the latter was pulling her leg, if not for the genuinely blank look on her face (although to be fair, Tetsu's face is always blank, so that doesn't really say much). "You're kidding, right?"

"I have no sense of humor."

"No sense of humor my ass," Echizen grumbles, looking away from Tetsu's blank stare to glare towards the empty side of the car. "You seriously didn't know?"

"I don't believe that people find big heads attractive, Ryoma-chan."

"Fuck off! I would've been perfectly fine if no one here recognized me." Even though she logically knows that it's not technically his fault, her emotional side happens to be louder, so she turns to shoot a dark glare towards Buzz Cut, who shrinks further back. "Don't even think about making a big deal out of this. I'm not Echizen Ryoma, daughter of Samurai Nanjirou and successor of his lost throne or whatever bullshit journalists make up these days to sell papers. I'm Ryoma, and if you treat me like I'm not, I'll make _you_ infertile too. Clear?"

"Crystal," Buzz Cut whimpers, gulping heavily.

"Good," she mutters before leaning back and closing her eyes, a clear indication that the conversation is over.

She knows that she'll have to answer some questions later (if Kiyoshi's, Tetsu's, and Aida's piercing stares are anything to go by), but for now, she's more than content with the plan of catching up on lost sleep.

* * *

An hour later finds the three girls sitting neck deep in the hot springs, letting the peaceful silence soak into their skin. By now, the three of them have had more contact with boys than most people ever have in a lifetime, and while not even Echizen can deny the fact that most girls would kill to be in their positions (she's not interested, doesn't mean she doesn't notice), there are times when boys are about as appealing as dog turd stuck to the highway for three months during summer (how it got stuck there in the first place will be left to anyone but Echizen's imagination).

Still, the wooden barrier is disturbingly thin, and no one needs Echizen's ridiculously sharp sense of hearing to listen to the boys on the other side. Luckily, the hot springs are empty of people, so Seirin plus one extra has the area all to themselves.

"Oi, Kagami!" Echizen instantly recognizes Hyuuga's voice, which, despite the rough connotation of his words, is soft and relaxed, most likely due to the steam and the heat. "You shouldn't let your towel touch the water!"

"What? Really?"

"Ah, viva-non."

Echizen shivers, an image of a certain silver-haired tennis player flashing through her mind. _Please don't let their be another Kuran-senpai..._

"What's viva-non?"

_Don't engage him, Kiyoshi!_

"Who cares? Idiots!" Hyuuga drawls, effectively shutting the lid on the conversation and gaining Echizen's gratitude in one go. (She's learned after spending the past year on the same team as Kuran-senpai that asking him about the weird phrases he randomly spouts is never a good idea.)

"Your remarks are lacking bite, Hyuuga."

"Of course they are. After all, we're at the hot springs."

"Riko can be smart sometimes."

Echizen snorts as the brunette coach bristles next to her, grumbling under her breath, "You don't say." A dark glower adorns her face as she slowly sinks down until only her nose and eyes are above the water.

A bare smile graces Tetsu's face as she glances towards her coach. "Coach Aida, I think that it's a compliment."

If anything, Aida's glower only grows darker.

"Yeah, taking us to the hot springs to refresh ourselves."

"Tomorrow, we're going right back to practice." An image of Nichi-senpai accompanied by a violently loud, "TARUNDORU," appears, and Echizen feels the urge to bash her head against the rocks because _damn it she actually_ misses _her ridiculous team composed of weirdos and creepers._ Maybe Suke-senpai and Mitsu-buchou will come visit her tomorrow. Maybe she can even drag them with her to Winter Cup (although she still doesn't quite understand why she even bothers-she should've stopped showing up ever since that first match and yet there's something about Seirin that keeps calling her back- _she wants to know more_ ). That should be punishment enough for Suke-senpai and Seijūrō. "Don't lose focus."

"I know."

"Look, look! I'm doing the butterfly!"

Echizen...has no ideas about what to think.

"I knew you'd do it, but don't do the wildest stroke."

"Hey, you guys! Don't tastelessly wear your towels around your waists."

"Is there a reason why we're still listening to them?" Echizen mutters, hooking her arms over the rooks before leaning her head back to stare up at the sky. The lack of stars is nothing too surprising, though she wishes that she could see at least one little pinprick of light. She's always liked stars, although astronomy's always seemed a little bit high-browed to her.

"Now that you mention it..." Aida glances towards Echizen, a sly look on her face. "Do you want to tell us a little more about your burgeoning tennis career?"

"But I didn't mention it," Echizen spits out through grit teeth, the warning glare that she shoots the other two occupants of the girl's side of the hit springs being casually waved off.

"See, I knew that your name sounded familiar, but I never actually thought that you were _the_ Echizen Ryoma. Junior tennis champion of America, not to mention managing to clinch the Nationals from under the belt of the reigning champions, Rikkaidai, after competing in the US Open at the tender age of twelve."

"You should become an author. You'd be much better at exaggerating wildly than you are at coaching."

"Then you skip the rest of junior high to test perfect scores on the entrance exams of Rakuzan, where you became a regular on the Nationally-ranked tennis team. And here you are now, sitting right in front of me."

"Yes, thank you for telling me my own life story. Your input is graciously accepted."

"Impressive," Tetsu offers her monosyllable worth's of input, and Echizen decides that Tetsu's lying about having no sense of humor because that bastard looks like she's having a hell of a time right now.

"But really, how did someone like you..."

"What, how did someone like me end up watching basketball? How did someone like me end up living in a dump? How did someone like me meet Tetsu?"

Aida quickly raises her hands, a sheepish expression crossing her face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way, although I have to be honest, I am wondering how you meet Kuroko. It seems that you two are very close."

"Hmph," Echizen sniffs, letting go of the rocks to sink down, dunking her head into the water to her hair gets wet as well. When it seems obvious that she's not planning on answering, Tetsu does so in her place.

"A mutual acquaintance of our's introduced us," the blue-haired teen says slowly, making sure not to let slip the identity of said mutual acquaintance (Echizen's sure that somewhere out there, Seijūrō is having a violent sneezing fit). "We became very good friends very quickly. Although, I didn't know that you were so successful."

Echizen shrugs, turning and pulling herself up, not particularly shy about the fact that her current state is showing her body with nothing left to the imagination (it's not the first time she's been naked in front of people-the only difference this time is that she's with only girls). "I didn't particularly feel the need to. Besides, I keep hearing about these 'Generation of Miracles.' I hardly doubt that you're in any position to reprimand me when you've been doing the same thing, huh?" As Echizen begins to leave the springs, she casts a casual glance to the side, wondering if these boys are dumber than they seem. "By the way, it looks like you guys have company. Better watch out for wandering eyes or else they'll see something they really shouldn't."

Not even Tetsu can fully suppress a light chuckle as Aida practically implodes with anger right then and there.

* * *

Tetsu finds Echizen where she's most expected to be-buying a grape Ponta at the vending machines. The blue-haired girl is holding a wet blue cloth to her forehead, pale cheeks flushed while loose clothing practically falls off of her frame. Only exchanging nods of acknowledgement, Tetsu slowly climbs onto the bench next to the vending machine, lying down onto her back and sliding the cloth until it covers her eyes.

"Want something to drink?" Echizen asks, popping the tab of her drink and taking a nice, sugary gulp.

"A sports drink would be nice."

Echizen hums, eyes scanning the array of products before frowning slightly. "It looks like they're sold out."

"Then water would be fine."

"I guess there's really no point in drinking a sports drink when not actually exercising."

"I guess there's really no point in drinking a Ponta when wanting to stay healthy."

"Fuck you."

The two girls lapse into another comfortable silence as Echizen inserts the enough yen for the bottled water, uncapping it once she picks it up from the slot and setting it beside Tetsu's hand.

Echizen leans against the wall next to Tetsu, finding no need to leave, considering that there really isn't anywhere else to go. Every few seconds, the older teen on the bench shifts and rearranges the towel over her eyes. A couple of times, her arm comes very close to pushing the bottle off the edge of the bench, and Echizen finally can't stand the sight any longer, picking it up and holding two drinks in her hand, one of which is being rapidly drained.

When Echizen's contemplating the pros and cons of buying another Ponta, the sound of footsteps reaches her ears, and she glances up, only to be met by the sight of a bored-looking tanned teenager with dark blue hair who looks strikingly familiar. It takes a few seconds for her to place him as the perverted one with the lazy drawl part of Touou's basketball team-the one she remembers to be...Ahomine, is it?

She doesn't expect him to stop, but when his eyes land on Tetsu, something flashes through his eyes, which makes Echizen immediately wary. As surreptitiously as possible, she carefully nudges Tetsu's dangling feet, which causes the blue-haired teen to reach up and lift up her towel.

_Not so very subtle after all._

Ahomine's eyes then shift from Tetsu to Echizen, and she's even more guarded when a flash of recognition and interest registers themselves in her mind. She's never met him directly before, and ever since that time, she'll never trust anyone she hasn't spoken with for a relatively long period of time with those expressions in their eyes.

"Aomine-kun?"

_Oh...Aomine. I guess Ahomine would be too cruel of a real name._

The boy's eyes slide from Echizen to Tetsu, and as he moves towards the vending machine, he tosses out a casual, "It's been a while, Tetsu."

Echizen's eyes flash towards Tetsu, who's face is as smooth as ever, the only hint to what she's possibly feeling the slight twitch of her fingers on the towel in her hands. _Is this guy the reason why both Seijūrō and Tetsu were so surprised the first time I called her that?_

Silence falls as Aomine inserts some coins into the machine, which spits out a can in response. Picking it up, he takes a deep gulp before turning around to face Echizen. "You're Tetsu's girl friend. The one who spoke to Hanamiya Makoto."

Tetsu's head whips towards Echizen, who ignores the blankly accusing look leveled upon her person, instead meeting the boy's dark blue eyes with a slightly arrogant smirk pulling at her lips. Though she's gotten better, there are times when she can't help but pull up her Prince(ss) of Tennis mask again, especially when in the face of what she marks as dangerous. (Her instincts are screaming at her to run, but she's not a damn _coward_ , she won't let something like _that_ control her life the way other people do.) "I don't remember you being a part of our conversation."

Aomine responds in kind, a wide smirk pulling at his lips as he takes another gulp. "Bathroom walls aren't worth shit. I could hear every breath you took."

"Because _that_ doesn't sound creepy at all."

"Word of advice: if you want your conversations to stay private, don't have them in front of a seemingly empty bathroom. It'll do wonders for your reputation-or lack thereof."

"Wow, a cheeky little dick who doesn't even know about the stick shoved up his ass is lecturing me on my rights to privacy. I've heard it all."

"If anywhere, that stick would be shoved up _your_ ass, preferably while you're screaming my-"

" _Fuck you_ ," Echizen snarls, trying her hardest and utterly failing to suppress the bright red blush that she's sure is blooming across her face. Her only friends being hormonal teenage boys, some of whom feel the need to introduce her to certain pastimes that she never even wants to _think_ of them doing, she's far from the innocent little thirteen-year-old girl that she _should_ be. Couple that with the hentai that spends the weekends with her and her mind is as pure as the damn gutters after a hurricane.

That doesn't mean that she particularly _enjoys_ this type of "banter." (Not to mention the fact that it really does remind her of some horrible, horrible things.)

"Oh, please do," Aomine groans, the smirk on his face widening as he leans against the wall opposite of where the two girls are sitting and standing.

"How the fuck do you two even know each other?" Echizen gripes, glaring from Aomine to Tetsu and back again. "I can't believe you'd even think about talking to someone like him, Tetsu."

"I talk to you, Ryoma-chan," Tetsu deadpans, and Echizen resists the urge to throw her empty can of Ponta at the dick's face when he snorts (the only reason being that even she can't argue against the undeniable logic behind Tetsu's statement). "And I hardly believe that my relations with either of you two are a point of contention here."

Echizen scoffs, tossing the can towards the trash can. It lands neatly inside, and Aomine exclaims, voice dripping with mock awe, " _Amazing_ , you can throw a can into a trash can two feet away from you. Wow, I've _never_ seen _that_ before!"

"If you don't have anything of importance to say, please go and kindly gag yourself."

"Damn, you're pretty kinky. How scandalous!"

"Bitch, you probably dream of doing all the shit you read in those _porn_ magazines of your's."

"Hey, they're not porn, and I don't remember ever telling you about my magazines. Who's the creepy one here now?"

"Still you."

"I knew I shouldn't have let you guys meet each other."

Two pairs of eyes flicker to the side to land on Tetsu. Even though she's watching the two of them with a blank face, they can read the exasperation and regret she's feeling on the inside. "What does that mean, Tetsu?"

"What the dick said."

"If you keep talking about my dick, I might start thinking that you want it."

"Would you shut the fuck up for a single moment?"

"Ladies first."

"Chivalry is the chauvinist's expression disguised as an expected society norm."

"Or the sniveling feminist's hypocritical expression of brainwashed expected overindulgence."

Before Echizen can retort again (though inwardly, she agrees wholeheartedly), Tetsu jumps in, looking fed up with the rapid fire banter being exchanged between the two people who have most likely already forgotten her presence. (If it's any consolation, Echizen hasn't _forgotten_ Tetsu's presence-she's just _ignoring_ it. At least by now, Echizen has become accustomed enough to the older teen's ridiculous lack of presence.) "Good, it seems that you two are both on the same page. Chivalry is for the low lives of society. Now, an _explanation_ please."

The two turn their glares back onto each other but otherwise don't say another word. (Another testament to the amazing awesomeness that it Kuroko Tetsuya-she has somehow managed to restrain two of the world's most pigheaded brats with three short sentences.) When neither make a move to so what she asked, Tetsu sighs before prompting them with a soft, "So...?"

Echizen lets out a sigh before mumbling, "In Seirin's last prelim match, during halftime, I was walking around the gym when I heard that dick over there and Makoto talking in the bathroom. A few seconds later, Makoto walked out and I game him a little advice about the match."

"Makoto?"

Before Tetsu can question Echizen further on the extremely familiar way of address, Aomine snorts, crushing his can in his grip before tossing it into the trash can. "Advice my ass. All you did was tell him the same thing I did, just using fancier words."

"Which must mean that my vocabulary is worlds away from your's."

"Worlds away in the gutters."

"If you keep confusing yourself with me, I might start thinking that you really _don't_ want that namesake of your's."

"What're you going to do with it, keep it for yourself?"

"Yeah, I'll frame your dick on the wall and throw butcher knives at it every night before I go to sleep."

"If you two are going to resort to the immature squabbling of horny prepubescent teenagers every few seconds, I'm leaving." Tetsu begins to make good on her words, sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of the bench. Before she can stand up, however, Aomine causes her to freeze in place with a few simple words.

"I saw your game."

The blue-haired girl's eyes widen almost imperceptibly, and Echizen's narrow at the sudden change in Aomine's tone and the atmosphere. Even though they had been sharing barbed insults like glazed candy, the atmosphere had been much more light-hearted than the heavy tension that only grows heavier with each passing second of Tetsu's silence. Aomine continues, the infuriating smirk from before having long disappeared into a condescending look down the bridge of his nose.

"Was that the new move Satsuki mentioned?"

"Hai." Echizen glances down at Tetsu who seems to have unfrozen, her eyes raised to stare determinedly back at Aomine, face as blanks as ever. "I developed it to use against you."

Aomine scoffs, and the smirk is back, but this time it's colder, sharper, meant to scare people off rather than express his mirth. "Sorry, but it won't work. The one that'll win Winter Cup-"

"Is us!"

All eyes immediately turn towards the newcomer-Bakaga. (Unlike Aomine, who at least has enough entertainment value in his sharp and less than pure wit, Bakaga-whose name she actually _does_ remember from the amount of times one of his seniors reprimanded him-really does seem like a true idiot.) The red-haired behemoth who makes Echizen wonder just what exactly the rest of Japan is eating and why _she_ isn't eating it leans against the wall, having apparently just turned the corner. His hair is still wet, but the rest of him is otherwise dry.

Aomine's eyes narrow, and the tension seems to triple. (Echizen's starting to regret missing/not knowing about Inter High-if only because she's hella confused right now, and she _hates_ not knowing what's going on-especially when it comes to Tetsu, who seems to be trouble magnet despite not being able to be seen by the regular passerby.)

Tetsu quickly stands up, towel held limply in her hand. "Kagami-kun."

"What are you doing here?" Bakaga asks as he walks towards Tetsu. He spares Echizen only a passing glance before looking back at Aomine.

"You're going to win, huh?" Aomine's smirk widens as he practically bares his teeth. "It's not enough. More. It seems you really did open the door-" Echizen's eyes narrow at the mention. It makes her wonder-do they know of Muga no Kyōchi? Do they use it? It doesn't seem so, by the vague mention of a simple "door," yet Echizen can never be too sure...There aren't many who can open those doors, but...maybe. Just maybe. "-but you're just standing at the entrance. You're not even close to the Generation of Miracles. You're not even entertainment yet."

Echizen scowls, crossing her arms over her chest before turning around and walking away. She can feel his eyes burning into her back, but her arms only tighten as she strides away. Even as Tetsu lets out a small chuckle and the tingling sensation at the nape of her neck fades away. Even as the blue-haired girl says, "Sorry, Kagami-kun. I actually celebrated internally just now."

Bakaga laughs as Echizen turns the corner. "What are you talking about? Everyone's thinking that. No one thinks that winning will be easy. If we win enough games, we're bound to face them sooner or later. Nothing beats repaying a debt quickly."

"Fine. Bring it on." Shivers run down Echizen's spine at Aomine's dark tone, and for the first time since the incident in America, she curses her sharp senses.

Footsteps sound behind her, and Echizen hastens her own until she finds herself standing in the common room. Taking a deep breath, she lets her arms fall to her sides before she curls up in an armchair next to the fire, watching the flames dance as her mind wanders. She's sure that she only has a few seconds of silence before someone comes into the empty besides her room and breaks it, but for now, she'll take full advantage of it in order to sort out her rioting thoughts.

There are too many holes, too many shadows, too many unknown variables with Tetsu, and while it may be a bit hypocritical of her, Echizen is a little miffed. She wants to be a part of the strange magnet that is Kuroko Tetsuya, and in order to do so, she needs to know more about the blue-haired girl. She needs to understand the relationship between her and Aomine, she needs to know what the "Generation of Miracles" is, and she most definitely needs to know what's wrong with Tetsu's eyes. An athlete's vision is as precious as an arm or a leg. It's probably the only reason why the only part of her body that hasn't been bruised yet is her face.

_Echizen knows what a terrifying experience it is to not be able to see anything-or worse, to not be able to trust what is seen by your eyes._

Just as predicted, someone steps into the common room, and Echizen doesn't have to look up to know that Tetsu is walking towards her. The other girl sinks into the chair next to Echizen, and after a few moments of silence, she begins with, "I'm sure that you have a lot of questions."

Echizen snorts, glancing away from the undulating flames for just a moment to shoot a half-hearted glare and smirk towards her companion. "No shit, Sherlock."

"I do too, but I'm willing to be the mature one here and give you the answers you want. Hopefully, you'll eventually repay the favor."

Echizen snorts but otherwise doesn't respond. For all the stubborn brat she usually is, she knows that Tetsu isn't asking. She's ordering. _They really are cousins._

"You most likely haven't heard of my middle school, since the tennis team is far from the strong the you seem accustomed to. I haven't known you for long, Ryoma-chan, but it isn't very hard to figure out how your mind works. On certain occasions." The look that Tetsu shoots Echizen tells the latter that the former is expecting heavy detail on the _other_ occasions. "Teiko Middle School had been nothing more but an institution in which only scholars thrived. The sports teams were mediocre at best, the worst of them being the basketball club. That is, until three years ago, when four geniuses enrolled into the school and joined the team. Despite being only first years, they easily soared up to the positions of first-stringers and regulars, having an outstanding amount of talent."

"Who are they?"

"Akashi Seijūrō. Aomine Daiki. Midorima Shintarō. And Murasakibara Atsushi."

Echizen's eyes narrow. "You aren't one of them?"

Tetsu hesitates for a split second. "Why would you think that?"

"You're far too close to them to be merely another regular teammate. Besides, you've forgotten that I've seen you play. No ordinary person can do what you do, Tetsu."

"I'm no genius. That year, Teiko took the championships, but it wasn't until the end of second year that things began to go downhill. During that year, Kise Ryōta joined, and the five of them were dubbed the 'Generation of Miracles' by the general public. At the time, things had been going smoothly. Teiko had been cinching match after match, gaining trophies and quickly establishing its prowess in the sports world. With the Generation of Miracles, no one could stand on the same court without being blown away."

With every word that comes out of her mouth, Tetsu's expression grows increasingly darker, and Echizen can begin to see what she's trying to say. "And that was the problem?"

" _Is_ ," Tetsu corrects, and Echizen is slightly surprised by the amount of bitterness in the monotonous girl's voice, "That _is_ the problem. One by one, they blossomed, beginning with Aomine-kun. His basketball grew terrifyingly strong, and it took him far far away from the rest of us. The other four quickly followed, and with them, the joy of basketball. The simple joy of balls bouncing across the sleek flooring, of harsh breathing and heavy sweating, of coordinating and playing as a team. They no longer needed my passes."

Echizen latches onto the last tidbit. " _Your_ passes? You played with them?"

Tetsu looks reluctant, but she slowly nods, eyes dropping to look down at her lap in an uncharacteristic show of nervousness. "...Yes. I was the shadow to their light."

"...Excuse me?"

"I don't often tell non-basketball players, especially athletes of individual sports such as tennis. It isn't something that most people tend to understand, but in order for you to fully comprehend the situation, you must. I am a shadow. My lack of presence makes sure of that."

"That's pretty pessimistic."

"Don't see it as a bad thing. After all, the shadow is your most loyal companion. Even though others may leave you, one by one, your shadow will forever stay by your side...an eternity of unwavering support. It's what ties you to this earth. It reminds you that you have a body, that you are breathing, that you are alive. The shadow is the silent, unsung warrior."

"Are all basketball players this eloquent?"

"In particular, I was Aomine-kun's shadow."

Echizen's eyes widen as she jerks her head to stare at Tetsu, who's wearing a small smile tinged with sadness. " _What_? That _dick_ was your _partner_? What the fuck was that shit back there then?"

"He was the brightest of them all, and as a result, he was the first one to leave me behind. Even Seijūrō eventually left, although I'm sure that not even he knows. Basketball...is no longer fun for them."

Echizen swallows, slowly sitting back. Those last words hit home.

_Tennis...when did it stop being fun for me?_

"By the start of third year, the Generation of Miracles were seen as monsters. They still are. They had no regard for the fact that their opponents are human beings, crushing them with no mercy, and I could only watch as player after player fell to the their knees, many of them quitting basketball altogether, and even-" Tetsu cuts off, eyes widening just a fraction as she rushes forward, as if having almost let something slip that she shouldn't have. "-even swearing to never think about basketball ever again. Do you know what it feels like, to hate something that you love?"

It may be a rhetorical question, it may not be, but either way, Echizen isn't willing to answer out loud, though she does it inside.

_Yes._

"Tetsu, what did Makoto mean at the beginning of your game with him?" Tetsu freezes, and Echizen pushes forward, knowing that she's about to uncover something that the other girl had probably been trying to keep under wraps. " _Save_. What a strange word. He said that you 'saved' people, and yet you claim that you were part of the team that destroyed them. Which is it?" When Tetsu doesn't immediately answer, Echizen's eyes narrow further. "Or is it both?"

Breathing out sharply, she laces her fingers together, having composed herself. Still, her throat tightens for a moment as she swallows almost imperceptibly. "I...It's nothing."

"Nothing? It sure doesn't seem like nothing."

"I don't want to talk about this."

"Is this related to that Tacky guy?"

"Huh?" Genuinely confused, Tetsu stares at Echizen for a moment, who frowns, wracking her brain for the name of the guy who had joked about being Tetsu's boyfriend right before almost being knocked out to next Sunday by her overprotective teammate and the carrot on the other time, both of whom apparently have no sense of humor. The tense atmosphere from before has immediately dissipated, and if not for anything else, Echizen is grateful for that.

"That weird guy with the orange uniform you played before Makoto...the one who was really friendly with you?"

"Takao Kazunari," Tetsu clarifies, and Echizen contemplates the name in her mind before nodding. "What about him?"

"You 'saved' Takao, didn't you?"

The tense atmosphere is immediately back, and Tetsu's expression goes even blanker than before. "What made you think that?"

"For one, your reaction."

"Ryoma-chan."

"It was a simple guess. Besides, the way you two interact...it's as if he's forever trying to pay you back for something you did for him."

"You're sharper than you seem."

"Thank you, but don't even think for a second that you're changing the topic on me. I want to know what Makoto meant about you 'saving' people-apparently, this Takao guy included."

Tetsu shifts in her seat, bringing her legs up and curling up in the armchair. Her eyes slide from Echizen to the fire, and the tongues of flame are reflected in her blank eyes as she slowly begins. "During third year, things got very bad. It was one thing that the Generation of Miracles was winning. It was another when they lost all respect in their opponents entirely. Losing is something that every athlete learns eventually-it's unavoidable. However, the Generation of Miracles didn't just _win_. No, the Generation of Miracles won and made sure that those we won against would never be able to win ever again."

"Stop speaking in damn riddle, Tetsu. It sounds pretty but it's frying my brain."

"Some of our opponents were so devastated, they attempted to commit suicide."

"Well...shit."

Tetsu's eyes turn towards Echizen, and the latter flinches back as she feels the burning glare that is leveled on her person. "This isn't the time for jokes, Ryoma-chan. The Generation of Miracles utterly _destroyed_ them. _We_ destroyed them."

"Woah, woah, woah there, hold up. _You_ did? You said it yourself, you were sitting on the bench the entire time! You didn't even support what they were doing."

"I should've done something! I only began to try to push them away from what they were doing towards the middle of third year, and even then, my attempts were paltry at best. I should've begun sooner, should've tried harder-I should've done _something_. But I didn't, so all I could do was try my hardest to cushion the fall. Those who were hurt the worst-I visited them after matches, tried to talk to them and convince them to try basketball again. Those who attempted suicide and failed-I made sure to foot their hospital bills, to provide for them and their families as much as I could. I have more money than I can even think about using-I might as well use it for something useful. Those who succeeded-I paid the funeral bills, I attended, I mourned with their families. I tried my hardest to make sure that the damage that we had done was assuaged as much as possible, but I'm sure that out of the tens that I have helped, thousands more have slipped through my fingers and shattered into dust. No, I didn't 'save' anyone. I was being selfish. I was making sure that I didn't feel guilty by trying my best to clean up the effect when I should've prevented the cause in the first place. I'm an utter failure."

The two fall into silence, the only sound between them being the crackling of the flames. Even their breaths seem muted as Echizen slowly processes the impromptu speech that Tetsu just gave. More emotion has been packed into those words than the entire teaspoon of emotions that Echizen has seen up until now. "Well, you're right." Tetsu doesn't even looked surprised. After all, the two girls are extremely blunt. There's absolutely no reason for the two of them to curb that characteristic around each other. In fact, they even amplify it, not being particular fans of beating around the bush (Echizen already has far too many people in her life who do that). "You are a part of the process of destruction. As a witness, you didn't push to stop whatever it is that those five were doing the moment they began to first show inklings of such apparently destructive behavior. However, you are not a failure. Because unlike most people, who would've continued to stand to the side and remain forcedly oblivious, you tried to do something. It must've been hard, tracking down every single one of those players and trying to get them to listen to you when you were one of those 'monsters,' so to speak. And so what if you were being selfish? To be honest, if you weren't, I would be worried. That would mean that you didn't feel guilty, which would mean that you're just as bad as them. I don't have any specific details on what your ex-teammates did to your middle school opponents, but if it was bad enough to cause players to attempt suicide, I think that you more than made up for your lack of action in the beginning. Things like this...they'll never disappear, but you just have to keep doing what you've been doing without losing sight of your ultimate goal. That's what life is, right? Besides, isn't it a bit too arrogant of you to think that you can salvage everything by yourself?"

Tetsu stares at Echizen for a long moment before she glances away-but not before Echizen catches a glimpse of a reflective sheen dancing across the surface of her eyes. "...Thank you. Takao always tells me that it's not my fault. It's a sweet sentiment, really, but..."

"It's too sweet," Echizen snorts, stretching her arms and legs out, letting out a satisfied sigh as she feels her muscles, which had fallen asleep during the duration of the two's conversation, flex. "What exactly did the Generation of Miracles do, though? How bad could it have been?"

Tetsu sighs. "They...well, they looked down on our opponents. You know Seijūrō's motto. He is absolute. Aomine-kun began to tell me that no one but himself could beat him. He stopped accepting my passes, and though he had been the one who loved basketball the most in the beginning, he was the one who hated it the first. Murasakibara-kun had never been exceptionally interested in anything other than eating snacks, but even he began to loathe players who put in work. He constantly criticized those who lost against him, telling them that there was no reason for them to try so hard when they would only fall at the touch of the finger of someone like himself. Midorima-kun came to believe that he could do no wrong. And Kise-kun...he forgot what the word 'team' meant. In fact, all of them did. They destroyed our opponents, maybe not physically, but psychologically, mentally, and emotionally. Because they hated basketball, they spread it to other players, until all that was left was the empty glint of a trophy that cost the blood, sweat, and tears of thousands. And the worst part is is that none of them know. None of them are aware of what they have done. Much like handing a child a grenade, they've pulled the pin and they don't know or understand the consequences."

Echizen slowly nods, though with every word that comes out of Tetsu's mouth, she finds herself spiraling further into confusion. It's most likely due to the fact that she doesn't play basketball, but... "I don't understand why that would've pushed people off the cliff."

"Huh?"

At Tetsu's shocked exclamation, Echizen raises a placating hand, gesturing as gently as possible. "I suppose that this sentiment may be due in part to the fact that I play tennis." Even though she hadn't been planning to, she finds herself elaborating at Tetsu's questioning gaze. "Tennis is a solo sport. We may have a team, but on court, we're alone. Even when playing doubles, we must trust in our own ability before we can trust our partner. Unless your partner is someone who you would give your life for, you are all alone on court. Tennis, more than any other sport, requires mental fortitude. As humans, we crave company. On court, however, all there is is you, the ball, and your opponent. Nothing more, nothing less. It's a game where the sole point is to wear down your opponent before they wear you down. To score as many points as possible. Players often set a time limit for themselves-I know many a person who has done so in the hearing range of everyone present at the match. I don't know what it's like in basketball, but we're used to snide remarks and constant condescension. It's all par for the course. So, I'm sorry, but I don't understand why those actions had so much of an effect on people."

"...So that's what you think of tennis."

"What?"

"Nothing important. To be honest, I wasn't entirely expecting you to understand. It's not something that can be comprehended by simply hearing someone speak about it. If you saw it actually happen...well, let's hope that you never have to. I just thought that as an athlete, you would be able to emphasize. I suppose I forgot the difference between tennis and basketball."

Echizen nods, and once again, the two fall into silence. This time, it's much lighter, and Echizen knows exactly why. She's sure that once Tetsu comes and asks for her payment, the silence will only grow lighter, but she's not ready yet. For now, this is enough.

Echizen has learned something about Tetsu. Something she didn't know before. And even though there's still a million other questions that have yet to be answered (what happened to your eyes? Why do you seem so bitter about your relationship to Seijūrō? Why do Seijūrō's eyes change color from time to time? What are you planning to do? Why are you trying so hard? Do you hate basketball? _What motivates you?_ ), the two are content with the events of tonight.

And that's all that matters right now.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the hot springs...

Apparently, Aomine isn't the only Touou basketball player who showed up.

On the boy's side, the male members of both Seirin and Touou (minus Kagami and Aomine because who knows why and a certain loud-mouthed Touou: Wakamatsu, who would never be able to survive spending a day in the Sahara) are sitting in the sauna. What had begun as an innocent challenge to see which team could stand the heat better quickly became a challenge and a message.

"It's true that we were practicing around here," Imayoshi admits, "but it's not a coincidence that we chose the same area as Seirin, either. We knew you were here and dropped by to say hi." Seieirn watches as he holds out a piece of paper. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what they are. "Our manager got her hands on these Winter Cup match ups. The official announcement isn't until later."

The captain's smirk widens as Seirin gasps collectively, having seen what Touou had come to show them.

"What?" Hyuuga breathes, looking up to stare at his Touou counterpart. "Schools from the same prefecture shouldn't play each other in the first round."

"Normally they don't. But schools from the special bracket are an exception. Which means..." Imayoshi's teeth flash as his eyes slit open. "I look forward to playing you. Your first opponent in the Winter Cup is us."

Aida stares at the girl who came in not long after both Echizen and Kuroko left. "What did you say?"

Momoi smiles softly. "Tetsu-chan is one of my only girl friends. Even so, I won't hold back this time. In fact, that's the reason why I'll put everything and more into this game." She stands up. "It's too bad that you'll be out after the first day, though." Momoi leans forward, hands on her knees as she smiles condescendingly down at the brunette coach. "Let's have a good game."

Aida's eyes narrow. "You're acting pretty superior, aren't you?" She follows Momoi's movement, standing up and pressing up against Momoi, a determined look on her face. "Don't underestimate us! My boys aren't that weak!"

"You just wait!" Coincidentally, both Aida and Hyuuga spout the same lines as they face off against their respective Touou counterparts. "We'll show you!"

Imayoshi chuckles. "Such courage! I'm not impressed, though. You sound like you think you've gotten stronger and closed the gap between us, but aren't you forgetting something?"

"Forgetting something?" Koganei frowns.

"By the way, we played against Josei at our practice game today." Imayoshi doesn't even wait for them to register the name before dropping the bomb. "We beat them soundly 170 to 39." _Compared to your 108-61._

Seirin's members are all taken aback.

"It's so simple, a child would understand. It's been six months since the Inter High. Everyone's practiced and become stronger during that time. It's another national tournament, but every team will be several degrees stronger at the Winter Cup." Imayoshi's eyes are open as he finishes. "Don't think we haven't changed since last time."

At that moment, there's no doubting that this year's Winter Cup will be an all-out war.


	13. Thirteenth:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More long exposition and some insight into Kuroko's past from a different POV, finally.
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

One Yukimura Seiichi finds himself standing in front of a basketball gym on his first day of break, surrounded by the entirety of the Rakuzan tennis regulars. Being the basketball favoritism school it is, Rakuzan lets out weeks before other schools. Even though the Winter Cup doesn't actually start until a week later, Yukimura's school locks down, so the only buildings that are able to be used are the dorms, the cafeteria, and the sports clubs.

The regulars would've all been practicing in the courts throughout the break (even though the tennis season is technically over-they have to prepare for next year) if not for the fact that one of their own has currently jumped on the bandwagon.

And of all people to be interested in basketball, it's _Echizen Ryoma._

Yukimura isn't ashamed to admit that out of all of his current teammates, Zen-chan is the one that he gets along with least (a rather unorthodox nickname for her, but he feels as if there's a mocking edge to her tone whenever she calls him "Mura-senpai"-he only wishes to return the favor). Though the two have already established that they mutually respect each other, and they aren't averse to each other's company, there's a clear barrier in between them that keeps him from growing closer to her.

Zen-chan doesn't like his tennis. Yukimura _knows_ that, has known it since that fateful match in the last Nationals of his junior high career. For all the attitude that she puts up, she has a kind heart, which makes her vulnerable to what Yukimura sees as a-not necessarily a weakness, but mercy certainly isn't a strength either. His tennis is the complete opposite of mercy. Stripping his opponent's senses one by one, sometimes all at once, until they're wandering in a world that their mind cannot even begin to comprehend-it's a cruel tactic, but an effective one. His yips tennis is the reason why Rikkaidai managed to cinch two straight National titles, and why he almost won the third one, if not for Zen-chan's conveneint opening of Teni Muhō no Kiwami.

It hasn't escaped his attention that she has never accessed it since then.

On the other hand, the barrier isn't entirely Zen-chan's fault. Though Yukimura finds nothing wrong with her tennis or even her as a person, for some reason, he's never been able to bridge the gap between them simply because he finds no reason to. There's no denying Zen-chan's magnetism, but Yukimura has never felt drawn to her the way he's sure that others have.

Their relationship is a politely distant one.

So it comes as a shock to him that he received a message from her the previous night while sitting in his bedroom in Kanto before any of the other regulars asking for his help.

_For his tennis._

And even though he wouldn't have refused in the first place (despite the distance of their relationship, he still feels somewhat obligated towards her, in the sense of a grateful student towards a gracious teacher, though the sentiment is rather disturbing to him), the very fact that she had asked for his help, for his _tennis_ , which every tennis member knows she dislikes, sparked his interest.

What he should not have down, however, was tell Syuusuke about the matter. Although the combined might of Syuusuke and Renji would've eventually sniffed out the truth, Yukimura's sure that they wouldn't have gone and told the whole team.

But since Yukimura had been the one to carelessly reveal the information...

"Zen-chan will be mad," Yukimura futilely attempts to dissuade them, already knowing that the weak threat will hardly mean anything to them. Every one of them has been on the business end of her burning glare and sharp tongue lashing at least thrice due to some misstep or another. One more time won't bother them.

Syuusuke waves a dismissive hand, eyes slitting open as he pushes open the doors of the gym. "Nonsense, Seiichi. Ryo-chan would never do something as ridiculous as that."

Yukimura sighs internally even as the doors are opened and Rakuzan's tennis regulars all step into the gym.

"Oh, Mura-what the hell are all of you guys doing here?"

Syuusuke's eyes light up like it's Christmas (now that Yukimura thinks about it, both Zen-chan's birthday and Christmas are coming up soon), and he rushes forward, arms wide. Zen-chan doesn't even attempt to dodge, merely stands in front of a group of people who are staring at Yukimura and the others with curious looks and (in the case of some) disgruntled ones. "Ryo-chan!"

The girl in question, doesn't bother to hide her utter dissatisfaction with her current situation, standing as stiffly as possible even while Syuusuke practically suffocates her. "Suke-senpai..." Her words end in a low growl before burning gold eyes swing up to glare sharply at the rest of her teammates-specifically Yukimura, who merely smiles serenely back at her. "And you! Why'd you tell them?"

"They would've found out either way," Yukimura offers, smile widening as she swears under her breath, clearly calling out his bullshit answer but knowing that nothing will change whether she does or not. "Besides, we haven't seen you for a while. I'm sure that Kunimitsu is wondering whether you've let up on your training."

"Yeah, and _you're_ watching _basketball_?" All eyes turn towards the loud voice as an awake Jirou bounces up to Zen-chan, sliding his arm over her shoulder. "Who are you and what have you done with Echizen Ryoma?"

Zen-chan clicks her tongue in annoyance, simultaneously pushing Jirou's arm off her shoulder while sliding out of Syuusuke's grip. He doesn't attempt to follow her as she takes a step back and to the right, which is an oddly specific direction. Yukimura's eyes narrow as a flash of powder blue catches in his peripherals, and they widen when a girl suddenly almost seems to "materialize" in front of Zen-chan. Everything about her seems relatively plain except for the fact that Yukimura hadn't noticed her at all.

Yukimura notices _everything_.

Blank blue eyes meet his, and he's shocked into stillness at the serene tranquility that he sees in them. It's a type of mask that not even Yukimura or Syuusuke could ever hope to achieve-partly as to the reason why the latter tends to keep his eyes perpetually closed unless in dire need of scaring the shit out of somebody. Yukimura prides himself on his sharper than normal senses (not as sharp as Zen-chan's, though he'll never admit to it) and his ability to utilize his innate advantages in analytical observation, which is what his yips tennis is based upon. In order to create a state in which his opponent must be convinced that Yukimura will inevitably return every single shot they attempt to make, he has to notice their every habit, their every quirk, their every movement, in order to seize control of the match and turn the tides in his favor-or rather, construct a canal that forcibly shapes the tides into whatever he wishes them to be because he is a _god_ in tennis, he is _absolute_.

(Yukimura also refuses to acknowledge the fact that he sounds a little bit too much like a certain red-haired basketball captain with heterochromatic eyes who has stolen all of Zen-chan's attention for the past few weeks, resulting in less than lively tennis practices and a pissy Fuji Syuusuke.)

Yet for all his pride in his sharp observational skills, he can't read anything in her eyes or in her face or even in her body language. Everything about her is blank and closed off, so much so that she fades into the background. If not for the tiniest smile on her face as she breaks eye contact with Yukimura to gaze down at Zen-chan (and the fact that she has motor functions) who, Yukimura realizes, had stepped back in such a specific direction to hide behind the phantom girl, he would've thought her as nothing more than an extremely realistic basketball player statue.

It's disturbing, really.

"Sorry, Aida," Zen-chan speaks up, directing her gaze towards the only other girl in the gym, a brunette who looks just as confused as all the other basketball players, if only a little bit more angry. "I didn't think that _everyone_ would come."

The girl, Aida-san, shakes her head and waves her hand dismissively, though the slight angry-ish confused look on her face doesn't disappear. From the way Zen-chan's face twists slightly, she notices as well. "It's all right. Since we're all strangers here, I guess some introductions are in order?"

It comes out more as a question than anything else, but Kunimitsu seems to take it seriously, because he steps up, bowing politely before saying in that stiff tone of his (even though he's great as a tennis opponent, Yukimura has never really been able to connect with Kunimitsu on a personal level-unlike Genichirou. Those two are like two peas in a pod), "I am Tezuka Kunimitsu, captain of the Rakuzan tennis club. It's nice to meet you."

He's followed by Genichirou himself, whose introduction is along the same lines, the only difference being their names and their positions. The teen stands the furthest away from the strangers (Yukimura would say that he's uncomfortable around strangers, but he's not that nice). "I am Sanada Genichriou, vice-captain of the Rakuzan tennis club. It's nice to meet you."

Yukimura, sensing Keigo's antsiness, cuts him off before he can even open his mouth, smiling widely when he shoots him a disgruntled glare. "I'm Yukimura Seiichi. Please don't mind the previous two, they are men of little words."

" _That's_ an understatement," Zen-chan mutters, rolling her eyes when Genichirou sends her a stern glare. "What, it's true."

Kiego quickly jumps in, not about to be outclassed (in what way, Yukimura doesn't know, but he doesn't really attempt to understand the diva's mind in the first place) by two of his greatest tennis rivals, who are now technically his teammates. "Ahn, Ore-sama is Atobe Keigo. Be awed by my-"

"You all have permission to call the walking and talking natural disaster 'Monkey King,'" Zen-chan calls from behind the phantom girl, only to jump and run behind towards the opposite end of the gym as Keigo shouts an incoherent protest and gives chase after her. "You really are a monkey-you can't even catch me!"

The basketball players all watch, dumbfounded as Keigo finally manages to trap Zen-chan and pick her up by the collar of her shirt, demanding her to apologize or else he'll let her keep suffocating. Her face is starting to turn purple by the time Aida finally decides to interfere, fearing for the girl's life. The tennis players, however, find this to be a common occurence.

Keigo always lets go half a second before Zen-chan truly does black out from the pain, so there's no reason to panic.

When Aida finally manages to separate Kiego and Zen-chan, all while giving the two a blistering tongue lashing (even Keigo looks somewhat abashed, which is saying something. Yukimura's sure that Kunimitsu is planning on asking the girl on how she does it later on), Kuranosuke clears his throat politely. He smiles genially as attention turns on him. "Hello. There's really no need to worry about those two. It happens on practically a daily basis." His smile grows wider at the shellshocked expressions that appear on the baksetball players' faces. "I'm Shiraishi Kuranosuke. I'm looking forward to getting to know you guys more."

Renji nods politely towards them, causing quite a few disturbed looks to be directed his way-most likely due to the excess amount of eyelid they see on his face (a nice way of saying Syuusuke's somewhat less shameless twin-not by much, however-but then again, it's not like Yukimura has any right to say anything about that matter, as Echizen would put it in much more colorful words-Yukimura blames those buffoons Momoshiro, Shishido, Gakuto, and Akaya for teaching her the majority of the cuss words that bounce around her mind all day). "Yanagi Renji. Regular, manager, and trainer of the Rakuzan tennis club."

"Renji-senpai, aren't you giving yourself a little too much credit?"

Renji doesn't even twitch, merely replying drolly, "If that's the case, Ryoma, would you like to scout for us, draw up training menus, arrange practice matches, and teach the non-regulars during practice?"

Zen-chan's eyes widen, and she blanches. "Hell no."

"Oi, oi, what's with that reaction?" one of the basketball players grumbles under his breath-the one with the glasses and the sharp, spiky hair.

Renji, having heard the not-so-quiet remark as well, turns towards the speaker, who looks surprised at the fact that everyone in the gym heard him. "You must not have met Ryoma before yesterday. Once you get to know her better, you'll realize that it's actually a blessing that she has no interest in doing these things."

"Hey, will you stop insulting me!" Zen-chan shouts from across the gym, the effect of the glare on her face greatly diminished by the way she tenderly rubs her throat, the red color as a result of being held there by Keigo slowly receding. Yukimura's eyes narrow as the sleeve of her jacket slips down for just a moment to reveal another bruise, and from the way his teammates stiffen, he's sure that they saw it as well.

They had never noticed the bruises until halfway through the school year. Not even Kunimitsu or Syuusuke had known about them, and they had been on the same team as her for a year prior. Considering that she didn't change with them, there was a somewhat plausible reason as to why they hadn't noticed the bruises before, but it was flimsy at best. Yukimura, no matter how much he and Zen-chan often disagreed and fought both on court and off, could never forgive himself for not noticing the fact that Zen-chan rarely ever took off her jacket or bared her skin unless absolutely necessary, or the obvious clumsy attempts at pasting concealer over discolorations, or even the way she snapped whenever someone touched her without prior warning. Not even her old teammates, even the hyperactive redhead and the spiky-haired one, who were closest to her, as far as he could tell, were able to touch her freely whenever they came to visit. They only noticed when an errant ball from Syuusuke (which in and of itself should've been a bad omen-Syuusuke _never_ misses a shot without it being on purpose) hit Zen-chan. They hadn't thought much of it, since they all assumed that it couldn't have hurt _that_ much, but when she flinched and let out a strangled sort of whimper, everyone noticed then.

That was when they saw the bruises.

Try as hard as they might, none of them were able to pry a word from her lips, and the next day, she acted as if nothing had happened. Whenever someone even hinted at the topic, she got upset and would either change the subject or leave. It was obvious that she didn't want them to interfere.

All they could do was watch over her silently.

As if noting his gaze, Zen-chan casually pulls the sleeve of her jacket up, looking for all the world as if it were an unconscious gesture, but it isn't. As the bruise disappears from sight, Yukimura gives her a stern glare, which she steadfastly ignores.

"I only speak the truth," Renji replies, covering the silence that surely would've spread as a result of the tennis players catching sight of Zen-chan's bruise. Though he doesn't outwardly show it, his slight concern shows to those who know him. "Something that _you_ seem to have problems with." Zen-chan's face sours, and Renji plows onwards before the outsiders can begin to think of the line as something beyond banter between two teammates. "I apologize formally for intruding upon your practice, though I can't say the same for the others."

"Maa, maa, I agree with Ryo-chan, that's rude of you to say!" Syuusuke beams, eyes sliding closed as eyes turn on him. "Hello, I'm Fuji Syuusuke. Thank you _very_ much for taking care of Ryo-chan. You see, she's _constantly_ getting into trouble!" Syuusuke reaches up, wiping a fake tear away. "We just feel so _worried_ when she's out of our sight for even a second!"

"Fuck you!"

"She's gotten even more hostile," Jirou observes, slowly blinking his eyes. "Was she ever this blunt?"

"She treats you nicer than everyone else," Renji offers as an explanation, and Jirou beams brightly.

"Aww, is that true, Ryo-ma-chan?"

"Shut the fuck up, you orange-haired freak!"

"I don't think that she does, Yanagi."

"She's just a tsundere."

"Stop fucking talking about me like I'm not here!"

"Oh, I haven't introduced myself yet."

"You're the last one."

"Are you guys ignoring me?"

"I'm Akutagawa Jirou, nice to meet you! Wow, so you guys play basketball? Ne, ne, do any of you guys play tennis?"

"Huh?" The glasses-wearing, spiky-haired one from earlier scowls. "Why would any of us play tennis? We're _basketball_ players."

"Eh?" Jirou frowns, scratching his head. "But if you guys don't play tennis...why would Ryoma-chan be interested in you?"

Yukimura laughs internally at the pissed off expressions that Jirou's thoughtless question incites, wondering, not for the first time, whether the orange-haired teen really is a high schooler. He still hasn't managed to get rid of his nasty habit of sleeping whenever and wherever he can, unless something interesting is happening.

Apparently, anything that involves Zen-chan is interesting to Jirou. (Not that Yukimura can fault him for thinking that way.)

The girl with the brown hair, Aida-san, steps forward, in between Jirou and the spiky-haired one, as if sensing the shit that may hit the fan at any moment now. "It's... _nice_ to meet you guys. I'm Aida Riko, Seirin's basketball club coach."

"Coach?" Renji asks, and Aida-san turns a suddenly heated glare towards him.

"Hmm? you got a problem with that?"

"No, very progressive of your school."

"I heard sarcasm."

"You must've been mistaken."

"Spare me," Zen-chan groans, "I don't want to listen to this awkward flirting any longer."

"We're not flirting!" Aida-san protests vehemently, cheeks flushing while Renji merely sighs, having borne the brunt of Zen-chan's teasing for the past year (something about how Renji is the easiest and most fun to tease since Kunimitsu and Genichirou are like blocks of wood, Jirou is usually asleep, Syuusuke, Kuranosuke, and Yukimura himself would only tease her back, and Keigo has too much of an ego). As a result, he's far too used to comments meant for provocation.

However, it looks like someone isn't.

"Oi, Echizen-san, what do you mean _flirting_?" the spiky-haired one snaps, shooting a glare towards the girl in question, who only raises her hands, the exaggerated expression from earlier fading away into a slight smirk.

"I don't know, isn't it obvious?" she drawls, crossing her legs. It looks like she's not planning on moving from her position on the ground for quite some time. "I mean, really, you're going to have to step up your game if you want to-"

"That is Hyuuga Junpei, captain of Seirin's basketball club, innocent to the workings of romanticism," one of the basketball players interrupts Zen-chan, an easy-going smile on his face, even as the spiky-haired one, Hyuuga-san, splutters a protest. "And I'm Kiyoshi Teppei. It's nice to meet you all."

"Yeah, Hyuuga, it's not nice to greet people without niceties*," one of the basketball players pipes up, looking inordinately pleased with the words that he just spouted (possibly a horrid attempt at making a pun).

"Shut up, Izuki!"

"I am Izuki Shun," the raven-haired teen proclaims proudly (though not as pompously as Keigo). "I hope that we get to know each other well."

"I'm Koganei Shinji!" pipes up another that's rather reminiscent of a cat (if Zen-chan resembles a jaguar, this guy resembles...a house cat). "And this guy-" He waves wildly towards the teen standing next to him, one with black hair and a seemingly perpetually drowsy look on his face. "-here is Mitobe Rinnosuke! He doesn't speak, so I'm his translator."

"And...how does that work?" Jirou questions, but is promptly ignored.

"I'm Tsuchida Satoshi." The teen rubs the back of his neck shyly before flashing a smile at the tennis players. He seems a little less...out there compared to the others. "It's nice to meet you guys."

"I'm Furihata Kouki, and these two are Fukuda Hiroshi and Kawahara Kouichi," one of the younger players pipes up, gesturing towards the two teens behind him. If Yukimura has to guess, he'd say that they're the benched players during official matches.

The one that Furihata-san had indicated to be Kawahara-san quickly exclaims in a jumble of words and incoherent sounds, though Yukimura can understand the general gist. "I-you guys-you all are-Yukimura Seiichi!-and Tezuka Kunimitsu-and Fuji Syuusuke-and am I dead? I have to be dead, there's no other way that-but!"

"Kawahara, you know them?" Furihata-san asks, and the boy in question turns wide eyes on his friend.

" _Know_ them? Who doesn't? These are all tennis _geniuses_! The gathering of the strongest high school tennis players in Japan! Every one of them has been scouted _at least_ once by professionals! They're legends!"

Yukimura's smile fades just slightly, and when he surreptitiously glances at his teammates, he can tell that they're just as bothered as he is by the teen's words. Zen-chan's face is sour, though it looks like the blue-haired girl is the only basketball player to notice.

"Kawahara-kun, that's a little bit rude." For the first time, the phantom girl speaks up, and from the way that several of Yukimura's teammates stiffen, it seems that even the sharp eyes of his teammates have trouble picking her out. It's not necessarily that she's hard to see, rather that it's hard to distinguish her from the surroundings.

It's far more terrifying than it should've been.

"Rude?" Kawahara-san repeats before flushing and bowing his head. "I'm so sorry if I offended any of you in any way!" The rest of his apology is quickly cut off by the blue-haired girl, who turns towards the tennis players and gives a polite bow.

"Hello, I am Kuroko Tetsuya. It's nice to meet you. I do apologize for any of my team's offensive remarks."

"Oi! Kuroko!" several of the girl's teammates chime in at the same time, looking as if they're about to protest.

"She's not wrong," Zen-chan remarks, and Hyuuga-san whirls in place to shoot a glare towards her.

"You, you have no say in this!"

"What the hell is going on?"

Hyuuga-san, Koganei-san, Mitobe-san, and Tsuchida-san all blanch while the first years glance around confusedly (excluding Kuroko-san, who merely glances towards the source of the voice). Kiyoshi-san only grins widely while Aida-san huffs out a sharp breath. "You're late."

Yukimura steps to the side as a man walks in, hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans. His eyes narrow as they sweep across the intruders' faces, and Yukimura has no doubts about whether or not he knows who they are. "If these guys are bothering you, Riko, just say it."

"Shut up," the brunette snaps before sighing. "They're... _guests_."

"Sorry for the interruption," Yukimura offers as a sort of peace offering (no one else would say it otherwise). "We won't intrude."

"Actually, you might have to."

"Huh?"

Everyone glance towards Zen-chan, who pushes up off the floor. Her eyes are locked on the man, who is apparently Aida-san's father. Her lips curl as she grumbles, "Hello again, Kagetora."

The man stares at her for a long time before suddenly whirling on his daughter, grabbing her shoulders. She stares shell shocked at him as he wildly shakes her shoulders, while Yukimura sends a curious glance towards Zen-chan, who's still watching the man, Aida-san (maybe Yukimura should start calling the daughter Aida-chan?), with the slightly unsatisfied expression on her face. "Riko! How could you! you invited that-that _demon_ here!"

"Hands off!" Aida-chan snaps, slapping her father's hands away from her shoulders. "First of all, I didn't invite her here, Kuroko-chan did. And second of all, don't you _dare_ call one of my _friends_ a _demon_!"

Not even Genichirou can mask his shock when she punches him in the stomach (considering that he used to give out slaps like pieces of candy, that's saying something). On his part, Aida-san doesn't seem all too affected, though he does look a bit upset. "But Riko-tan, you don't know her the way I do!"

"Kagetora..." Zen-chan growls out a low warning as she walks up to the group.

He ignores it, continuing to babble, "She absolutely _refuses_ to let me do anything for her when it's obvious that she can't reach the top shelf, and she runs around my center all day playing pranks and destroying things and _you don't know how many bills she makes me pay_!"

"How do you two know each other?" Kunimitsu finally speaks up, eyes narrowed, first on Aida-san, then on Zen-chan, who tilts her chin up and stares back defiantly.

"Family ties," she replies shortly, shooting a warning glance towards Aida-san, who does comply this time.

"But really, I didn't expect you to be here," he mutters, lightly rubbing the place his daughter punched, the silly air from earlier fading away. "Did you finally give up tennis?"

" _Finally_?" Syuusuke repeats, eyes narrowing on Zen-chan as well. "What does that mean, Ryo-chan?"

She glowers at the man for the stupid little slip up before snippily replying, "I'll be taking Tetsu."

Aida-san lazily runs his eyes over the blue-haired girl's body (what's most terrifying about this is that he doesn't have to _search_ to find her-what does that say about his eyes?) before remarking, "Your numbers are lower than normal, girl. Just what did Shirogane see in you?"

Kuroko-san stiffens, though almost imperceptibly. "You know Shirogane Kouzou?"

"Know, huh? Yeah, I guess you could say that. All right, Ryoma, I trust your judgement. You do you. Just return her in one piece."

The basketball players (and even some of the tennis players) can only gape as the man waves dismissively in the direction of the two girls before turning to face the basketball players. Aida-chan seems to be thinking along the same lines because she stutters out, "O-Oi, what do you think you're doing? Kuroko-chan should be training-"

"By herself, with someone who specializes in what she's struggling with," Aida-san replies harshly, and Yukimura isn't the only one who latches onto the vague words. It seems that there's something going on that neither of the girls' teammates are privy to that this man is. From the way both Kuroko-san and Zen-chan eye him warily, they understand that as well. "Riko, I've never lead you astray when it comes to training athletes yet, have I? I trust Ryoma. When Kuroko Tetsuya comes back to you for the Winter Cup, she will be stronger." He turns a piercing glare towards the rest of Seirin's members. " _All_ of you will be stronger. That's what you guys want, right?"

Kiyoshi-san is the one who answers. "Yes."

The man breaks out into a smile, spreading his arms wide. "Well then. Looks like we're all on the same page. Go do your thing, Ryoma."

Zen-chan smirks, grabbing hold of Kuroko-san's wrist. "Looks like we've got our stamp of approval. Mura-senpai, you're coming with us."

Yukimura raises an eyebrow as he follows behind the two girls, one of whom is being dragged by the other. "So this is why you called me here?"

"Mhmm. One-time thing, though. We're going to need your tennis."

"I gathered as much. Why?"

"Well, I'm sure that we'll both find out together. Isn't that right, Tetsu?"

"You're a sly fox, aren't you, Ryoma-chan?"

"I'd like to think of myself as a strategist."

"You would be wrong."

"Fuck off, Mura-senpai."

"And you tennis players!" Yukimura pauses to glance behind him, where Aida-san is pointing towards Syuusuke and Jirou, who had both made to follow Zen-chan out. "Since you're all here, you might as well be useful. You're training with us."

"We don't play basketball, Aida-san."

"Call me Kagetora-san, and you don't need to play basketball. After all, strength isn't measured by the sport you play. I heard Rakuzan's on break right now. You don't get the chance to work under a professional sports trainer for free every day. Wouldn't want you guys getting out of shape or anything."

"Come on, Mura-senpai. We've got things to do."

Yukimura smiles slightly as he turns around to follow his impatient, bratty, lovable (sometimes, most often not) teammate. "Hai, ojou-sama."

"Fuck you."

* * *

"When did you become a sports trainer?" Yukimura asks Zen-chan as they weave their ways through the crowds of Tokyo. She seems to have a clear destination in mind, though Yukimura isn't quite sure what or where it is (he rarely ever goes to Tokyo, since he never really has a reason to).

"I helped out at Kagetora's facility here and there," she replies vaguely, casting a glance back at him. "He's learned to trust my judgement and instinct."

"Let me rephrase: when and why did you begin going to Aida-san's training facility?"

"First of all, he told you guys to call him Kagetora-san. Second of all, I don't see how that's relevant."

Yukimura's eyes narrow on the back of Zen-chan's head, which is sometimes covered by Kuroko-san's powder blue hair, a few shades lighter than his own. "I'll find out what you're hiding eventually. You can't keep pretending forever."

"Oh yeah?" Zen-chan replies testily, fingers spasming over Kuroko-san's hand. "Don't make promises that you can't keep."

"Why are we heading to the sports park, Ryoma-chan?" Kuroko-san speaks up, voice soft yet commandeering, obviously attempting to relieve some of the heavy tension in the air. "The tennis courts?"

"Someone's waiting for us," Zen-chan replies before ducking around a family of five (screaming) children and two harried looking parents who are snapping at each other over the heads of their little ones, who seem oblivious to the fight their parents are currently having (ah, the young and the innocent and the deafening). When Yukimura follows after her and Kuroko-san, who is being dragged along, he finds himself watching her disappearing back as she swiftly strides through an archway and turns right. From what little Yukimura can see through the slots of the vine-covered gates surrounding the grassy area, there are basketball courts on the left, and from Kuroko-san's words from before, he can assume that Zen-chan is making her way towards the tennis courts.

Not even Yukimura can understand what Zen-chan could possibly be thinking right now (after all, there's no conceivable way that basketball and tennis are similar...but then again, why else would Zen-chan be here?).

Zen-chan, surprisingly, bypasses the rows of tennis courts, only to reveal another set of tennis courts, ones that are much more secluded than the previous ones. Sitting on one of the benches with the most bored expression on his face is none other than...

"Akutsu Jin," Yukimura states more than questions, not bothering to hide the slight note of disgust and disdain in his voice as he glances at Zen-chan, who only stares back before releasing her bruising grip on Kuroko-san's wrist. " _That's_ the person who's waiting for you?"

"You could fucking sound a little less fucking excited, Nerve Boy," Akutsu sneers, lips curling in the same disgust and disdain, though multiplied by a thousand.

"Jin," Zen-chan snaps, and Yukimura is genuinely _shocked_ when he turns towards her and immediately quiets down when he sees the smoldering of her golden eyes. _When did those two get so close?_ "Low blow."

"Just as much as it is one when he's fucking prejudiced against me because of my tennis when he plays just as damn badly as I do," Akutsu grumbles, which is as much of an apology that someone would ever get out of the silver-haired teen. Zen-chan, seeming to understand, only sighs before waving in Kuroko-san's direction. The blue-haired girl looks as blank as ever as Akutsu squints, eyes easily gliding over her, as if she isn't there.

So it's not just Yukimura.

"What're you waving at, fucking brat?" Akutsu grumbles, turning his eyes to glare at Zen-chan, who looks like she's fighting a smile.

"You're just not looking close enough," she replies before reaching behind herself to grab onto Kuroko-san and drag her forward again. Yukimura wonders if the latter is used to being manhandled by Zen-chan. She sure doesn't look affronted or uncomfortable or...anything, really. "Besides, don't you think that you're being a bit rude here? You've met Tetsu before."

Akutsu's eyes widen when they finally manage to lock onto Kuroko-san, and even though there's no further reaction from him, the way he tenses and the way he lightly bares his teeth is more than enough to tell Yukimura what he's feeling at the moment. "What the actual fuck, woman!"

"Cursing is rude," Kuroko-san replies in her deadpan voice, and Zen-chan is having a hard time covering up the shaking of her shoulders. "And yes, we have met, although I only knew your given name at the time. I apologize for referring to you as Jin-san for quite some time."

Akutsu can only gape as she politely bows to him. It's not often that Yukimura sees a speechless Akutsu Jin, so he would like to enjoy the moment (he's starting to see why Zen-chan would like to hang out with the violent bastard). "I-you-we-fucking brat, what the hell?"

"Well, she was here when you met Seijūrō a couple of days ago. Do you remember?"

"There was only that damned short redhead bitching off about something with the fucking god complex!"

"No, I was there the whole time," Kuroko-san says, straightening up. Her blank face only makes the whole situation even more amusing. "I didn't think that you noticed me, though."

A few seconds pass by during which the only thing Akutsu does is gape and splutter and gape some more. "I think you broke him," Yukimura remarks pleasantly, and Zen-chan nods, a little too gleefully for the innocent persona that she's been going with.

"You're so fun to mess with, Jin!" she laughs, letting go of Kuroko-san to make her way towards the bench where Akutsu's bag is sitting. She slips the tennis bag that she had been carrying the entire time (really, she takes it everywhere) off and sets it down on the bench. Unzipping it, she pulls out one of her red rackets before tossing it to Kuroko-san. On reflex, the girl catches it by looping her thin fingers through the holes, and Zen-chan clicks her tongue. "First lesson: never touch the strings unless you're adjusting them. Those are reserved solely for the tennis balls. You brought them, right?"

The question is directed at Akutsu, who seems to have shaken off his stupor. Though he still looks like he's a little bit shocked, he nods in response to Zen-chan's question. "You know, I technically quit the tennis club."

"Yeah, whatever. You can still play good tennis, so that's all that matters." Zen-chan glances towards Kuroko-san, whose eyes finally seem to be showing emotion-just the tiniest glimmer of confusion (not that Yukimura can blame her. He's not even in her shoes and _he's_ confused). "Hold it by the handle. For now, you'll just be learning the basics."

"Wait a minute," Kuroko-san quickly interrupts, "why am I doing this?"

"Training," Zen-chan replies in a matter-of-fact tone, rolling her eyes. "What else?"

"What I mean is, how will playing _tennis_ help me with _basketball_?"

Zen-chan stares at Kuroko-san for a long while, as if weighing the pros and cons of telling some vague, bullshit answer against those of telling the truth. Whatever those pros and cons are, she decides to go with the latter. "Your eyes."

Neither Akutsu nor Yukimura understand the blunt statement, but it has an obvious effect on Kuroko-san, whose eyes widen just slightly as her fingers clench tighter around the strings of the racket.

Zen-chan continues onwards, most likely for the benefit of the two clueless ones here. "I still don't know what happened to your eyes, but apparently, it's bad enough to freeze you up. During the last period of your game against Makoto, he had the ball and was swinging his elbow down, aiming directly at your eyes. Any normal athlete would've been able to dodge that attack. Even if they weren't able to, that would only be because they were panicking and unable to grasp the situation. You weren't panicking. Well, not about the current situation. You froze up. You were absolutely _terrified_ , and that had nothing to do with the fact that an elbow was swinging towards your eyes. No, it was the fact that the elbow was swinging towards your _eyes_ , of all places." Yukimura is still completely clueless about the whole situation, but with every word that comes out of Zen-chan's mouth, he can start understanding just why she chose him and Akutsu of all people to "train" Kruoko-san. "Basketball is a contact sport. Touching someone, whether accidentally or on purpose, is inevitable. Your eyes are in _constant_ danger, Tetsu, and don't you dare feed me some bullshit answer about how low the chances are of you actually getting hit in the face by a basketball. If the chances are even one percent, that means that there's a chance of it happening. Besides, your team can't have you freezing up every single time something comes in close proximity to your eyes. Honestly, it's a miracle that they haven't noticed yet. Only the so-called 'Generation of Miracles' and Makoto know about your eyes, right?" Yukimura doesn't miss the way Akutsu tense slightly, brow furrowed, at the mention of the moniker "Generation of Miracles." Personally, it sounds vaguely familiar to the blue-haired boy, but Akutsu's expression indicates a somewhat personal experience with the group of people. "I'm sure you could already tell, but Jin is a rough player. He's toned it down a bit since last year, but...well. You know. And Yukimura..." Zen-chan's face twists slightly. "He plays yips tennis."

Kuroko-san's eyes widen just slightly as she turns her head to stare at Yukimura. "Yips...tennis?"

"Yeah. I don't understand the schematics, but what he does is shut down your senses until you're in a state of oblivion, with no way of knowing up from down, right from left, ball from air, much less whether you're actually still existing or not." Zen-chan's eyes wander away from Yukimura, and not even he can escape the slight flash of guilt at the brief glimpse of true fear he catches in her gaze because he really does care for her (even if they don't get along all that well). "It's...terrifying. But for you, it's perfect."

"Perfect?" Kuroko-san chokes out, eyes wide, showing more emotion int he past few seconds than she has in the entirety of the time that Yukimura has known her (which, admittedly, is only a couple hours or so). "How so?"

"Jin will desensitize you to rough play, to the point where your eyes won't be your weak point-they'll be your _strength_ , among other points. And Yukimura...his tennis will show you that your eyes aren't the be all of every situation."

"What do you mean?"

"Well..." Zen-chan takes the racket from Kuroko-san's hand, lightly adjusting the strings. A way to keep her hands busy. "From what I've seen so far, you seem to think that your eyes are the most important sensory organs in your body, despite the fact that you use your ears, nose, and even your sense of touch more often than you know. In order to get over whatever psychological wall that is in your way, you first need to learn that your eyesight is _not_ the only weapon you have in your arsenal. Oftentimes, your eyesight can become your downfall. You, of all people, should know this, Tetsu, and yet, you, of all people, are the one refusing it most vehemently. Your entire basketball style is built upon tricking people's eyes and minds, weaving illusions to the point where they can't trust what they see because it may or may not be true. You _know_ how fragile, how limited, how _weak_ human eyes are. And yet you put so much stock into them. Yukimura's yips tennis will teach you how to break down that wall and make use of every single weapon in your bountiful arsenal."

Kuroko-san slowly blinks at Zen-chan, who grins back. "How did you know?"

The golden-eyed girl that has somehow wormed her way into the hearts of everyone who has ever met her smiles sadly. "I know because I understand you."

Yukimura hadn't even agreed to help.

_But maybe he'll do it anyways._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Please excuse the lame ass attempt at a pun (that probably isn't even a pun in the first place).


	14. Fourteenth: Demons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aomine is so twisted and yet he's so freaking fun to write. It's crazy. Watch out for Aomine's potty mouth.
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Aomine sighs, staring up at the hoop as the basketball spins on his finger. Satsuki and the others are all probably at home, resting up for the Winter Cup, but Aomine is feeling something that he hasn't felt in a long time.

_Restless._

He's no fool, no matter what people may think. Echizen Ryoma. He remembers that name, and on that day a few weeks back during half time of the Seirin-Kirisaki Daīchi match-that wasn't the first time he had heard the name. It took some time to pinpoint, even after he met her and saw her up close, but after she left, quickly followed by Tetsu and the weak light that he absolutely _refuses_ to acknowledge, it clicked into place.

_She's the girl he saw hanging out with Akashi that one time he went to visit his sadistic ex-captain._

Which makes it all the more weird he didn't recognize her beforehand, considering that he would _definitely_ remember _any_ girl who somehow manages to spend an extraordinary amount of time around Akashi.

He hadn't really planned to visit Akashi. The only reason he even went out of the house that day was because of Satsuki, who _bribed_ him with magazines of girls who weren't even Mai-chan, and instead lured him onto a train that went straight to Kyoto, where she dragged him by the ear to Akashi's school, lecturing him about how "strong" Rakuzan is and how he has to "take basketball practice more seriously"-shit like that. When they showed up at the gym, though, Satsuki froze just outside of the doors, eyes locked on the window right next to the door. When Aomine, grumbling and having not paid attention to his extremely (annoyingly) loquacious best-friend-turned-mother until she finally shut up, lazily flicked his eyes over to follow her line of gaze, he couldn't hide the utter shock the coursed through him as he watched Akashi, the ever aloof, condescending, and _epitome of god complex_ Akashi Seijūrō, walk off court in the middle of practice, only to be met halfway by a girl.

A _girl._

"What the fuck?" Aomine hissed, and Satsuki didn't even give him a reproachful glance for his swearing, which only highlighted the severity of the situation. "Who the hell is that girl?"

"I never would've predicted this," Satsuki breathed, eyes wide as she practically bored holes into the pair. "Akashi-kun and...Echizen Ryoma."

Aomine's head whipped sharply to the side. "You know the girl?"

"I mainly focus on basketball, but Echizen Ryoma...she is a legend."

Aomine snorted, his interest in the girl, which had been piqued, disappearing in almost an instant. Words like that...words like "legend"-they're a real big turn off. "What, she beat the world record for sucking dicks?"

This time, Stasuki _did_ turn a disapproving glare on him, crossing her arms under her rack defensively. (To be honest, Aomine _did_ feel guilty the moment the words left his mouth-after all, Satsuki hears those types of taunts and jokes more often than she should-especially when they're all directed at _her._ ) "Dai-chan..."

Aomine groaned. "How many times have I told you to _not_ call me that?"

"I'll stop calling you that when you stop saying such crude and offensive things!"

Aomine rolled his eyes, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Think again, old lady!"

He ignored her indignant squawk as he strolled away from the gym, having no desire (in the first place) to spy on his ex-captain. _Especially_ when he finally managed to score.

It never crossed his mind until tonight that the golden-eyed, if flat-chested, beauty with a sharp tongue and, maybe not so surprisingly, prudish behavior underneath all the hardened exterior is the same girl he saw with Akashi Seijūrō.

What's so special about her?

Even Tetsu seems to gravitate towards her (Aomine may not have interacted with his light-is she still even his light?-since their last match, but he can still read her, the way that nobody else can-or _should_ , and yet this Echzien Ryoma seems to have done so, if the expressions that flashed across her usually much harder to read face were any indication).

Aomine closes his eyes before flipping the spinning ball onto the back of his index finger and shooting.

He doesn't even have to look to know that he's made the basket.

_The only one who can beat me is me._

* * *

Aomine doesn't even bother to hide his yawns as he stands in line during the Winter Cup Opening Ceremony. The crowd is stifling, and he hates the glinting of the cameras positioned all around the enormous hall-not to mention the stares of the spectators who only wish to be entertained for an afternoon.

In all honesty, he wouldn't have even shown up if Satsuki hadn't predicted that Akashi would want to meet. Even if she hadn't pulled him aside they day before, an unusually serious look on her face, he could've easily figured it out.

Eventually, Akashi's dramatics become...predictable (nobody tell Akashi that Aomine _ever_ said that).

The ceremony finally ends, and Aomine separates from the rest of Touou, even managing to slip by Satsuki. Despite his notoriety, not a single person notices him as he weaves through the crowd, ready to find a shady alcove in which he can hide until Akashi summons him. It doesn't particularly bother him, though it kind of _does_ when a group of gorgeous, busty-looking girls pass by him without stopping once to try to talk or flirt with him. The one great thing of playing basketball is that girls flock to him like flies to amber. There isn't a single person who doesn't know of the Generation of Miracles in Japan, whether one plays or doesn't play basketball.

Except for one girl. _Apparently._

Aomine scowls as he finally slips into a darker, emptier hallway, hidden a little bit aways from the main areas. It's little ironic, when he thinks about it. He's the one who spends the most time in shadows, nowadays.

Meanwhile, Tetsu is...Tetsu is fighting for an impossible cause. She's still as impossible to see as ever...

But she's burning more brightly than ever.

Aomine snorts, dropping onto a bench. Swinging his legs up, he pillows his head with crossed arms as he lies back, staring up at the lofty ceiling, just barely visible due to dim lighting. He doesn't even know why he's thinking about this stuff now. It's never bothered him before-it certainly hadn't bothered him in Inter-High, when he _crushed_ Tetsu and her weak piece of _shit_ of a light. He hadn't expected her to come back, but she did, and she hadn't been crawling.

She had been standing tall and proud, eyes glinting with a light so contrasting of her nature. Except for the fact that those eyes of her's are still-

The silent chiming of his phone jars him out of his thoughts. Unsurprised, he slips it out of his pocket, looking up at the screen, on which a single new message flashes.

_From: Akashi_

_To: Ryouta, Shintarou, Atsushi, Daiki, Tetsuya_

_South entrance._

Aomine snorts, even as he pushes himself up and slips his phone back into his pockets. Classic Akashi. Needing only two words in order to have everyone scrambling around his feet like obedient little dogs. _It honestly pisses him off a little bit._

Exiting the shadowed area, he veers to the right, towards the direction of the appointed destination. By now, most players (and spectators) would be in locker rooms or the gym itself. The South entrance would give them the most privacy.

Just as the doors leading outside where Aomine can just barely catch flashes of puke green hair, the sound of loud laughter, shouting, and the bouncing of a basketball echoes around the atrium, and the tanned teen flicks his eyes to the right just as a group of guys tumble out of one of the other hallways, passing a basketball between them. The one leading the pack, a lanky, beanpole-looking guy, screeches to a stop the moment his eyes land on Aomine, paling. The basketball, which he might've caught had he not come to an abrupt halt, streaks past him, and on instinct, Aomine catches it with one hand, the impact nothing compared to Tetsu's old passes.

"What's wrong, Mog-oh, _shit_." One of the guys steps forward slightly, shifting his suddenly wide eyes from his friend to Aomine, who still has possession of their ball. "Let's go!"

Before Aomine can even say anything (not that he would've said anything _nice_ -after all, _they're_ the ones who threw a basketball at his face), the group turns tail and flees the scene. He stares at their retreating backs for only a moment, before shrugging. It's really none of his business, and he's never been one to care about anything that he doesn't deem particularly relevant.

_That includes basketball players that he can crush with a single finger._

Tucking the ball under his armpit, he continues onwards towards his final entrance, letting out a heavy sigh as the sun hits him full blast the moment he steps outside. His eyes only need a few seconds before they adjust, and then he's off again, wondering if it'd be worth it to see Midorima's reaction if he puked the same color of the latter's hair.

_Possibly._

Aomine hops up onto the stairs, easily stealing the spot that Murisakibara had just been about to sit on. The purple-haired monstrosity pouts around the ten pocky sticks stuck in his mouth. "Mine-chin, you stole my spot."

"It wasn't your's in the first place," Aomine replies carelessly, pulling the basketball up and spinning it on his fingers. His eyes glance around the area and narrow when they don't catch sight of two certain people. _And maybe a third one._ "Where's Tetsu? She's usually the first one here."

"Probably with Seirin," Kise replies brightly, golden eyes practically glowing at the sound of Tetsu's name. There are times when Aomine wonders whether Kise has a crush on her. Those times are quickly followed by questions as to why the blonde is still alive. "I'm sure she's coming soon. I haven't seen her in _forever_!"

"Which, I am sure, she is grateful for," Midorima replies stiffly, unconsciously pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Waah! So mean!"

"How the fuck are you still alive?"

"Sorry to keep you waiting." At the sound of Tetsu's voice, all of the current members of the Generation of Miracles glance up. Aomine immediately pinpoints Tetsu's position, but it takes the others a couple seconds to find her as well. His eyes slide from her blank blue ones towards those of the boy standing just behind her, almost as if hiding. Aomine snorts internally. _What the fuck is Seirin thinking, sending this little Pomeranian in after one of their key players?_

"You've got a babysitter, Tetsu?" Aomine drawls, keeping his fingers steady even as he stares down at the boy, who's shivering has increased tenfold.

"Mine-chin, you've got Sac-chin," Murasakibara mumbles around an enormous bite of a chocolate bar that has replaced the pocky from earlier.

"Satsuki's got nothing to do with this."

"By the way, Midorimacchi, why do you have scissors?" Kise questions, lowering the phone in his hand. Aomine chances a quick glance at the screen. All he can make out is a flash of blue before the screen blacks out. _Has Kise resorted to stalking now?_

Midorima snips the scissors, the sound far too reminiscent of Akashi for comfort. "It's obviously my lucky item, you idiot."

Kise sighs, for once deciding to ignore the jab tacked onto the end of Midorima's words. "It's dangerous, though. I wish you wouldn't walk around with them out like that."

Aomine snorts, flicking his finger and tossing the basketball straight up. It lands on the palm of his hand and he sets it onto the space next to him, even as he replies with a sardonic, "Someone should tell that to Akashi."

"Aominecchi!" The teen in question ignores Kise's indignant squawk, even as the blonde's phone rings.

"Your phone's annoying, Kise," Aomine snaps, glaring up to see him looking down at the screen of the now silenced phone. "Is it Akashi?"

Kise's mouth drops open just slightly, and a shocked gasp escapes him. Silence reigns just long enough for Aomine to begin thinking that something _might_ be going wrong. Then Kise speaks. "It's...a text from a fangirl."

"Go die!"

The sound of crinkling wrapper starts from beside Aomine, and the tanned teen looks up only to see Murasakibara staring down at a bag of chips, having already finished his enormous chocolate bar. "Huh? Mido-chin, let me borrow those scissors."

Midorima sighs before glancing away. "No."

"What?" Murasakibara frowns before glancing towards Tetsu. "Kuro-chin, do you have any?"

"No, I don't."

"Why's the guy who summoned us here the last to arrive?" Kise grumbles, tucking his phone into his pocket.

"There's no need to be upset," Midorima responds, which is secret code for: _shut up or Akashi will have your head._ "That's how he is."

Aomine lets out another heavy sigh, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees and his chin on his hand. "Sheesh..." His eyes flicker up to Tetsu, who's already looking at him. He really hates that about her-that she can anticipate him. "Oi, Tetsu. Where's that little ray of sunshine and happiness?"

"What do you mean, 'ray', Aominecchi?"

"I'm sure that she's somewhere around here," Tetsu replies, only to fall silent as the sound of footsteps reach their ears. All eyes turn to face Akashi, whose lips are quirked into a mockery of a genial smile (as always).

"I apologize that I've kept you waiting."

"Seijūrō," Tetsu states in greeting, and Akashi's eyes soften just the slightest at the sight of his cousin, only to harden when they land on the boy behind her (whose shaking and trembling and petrification has only increased since before).

"Daiki, Ryouta, Shintarou, Atsushi, and Tetsuya." As always, his words are sharp and clear-the sort of intimidation that hasn't failed Akashi yet. "I'm glad to see you all again. I'm deeply moved that we were all able to meet like this. However..." His words become even more clipped as his eyes sharpen in on the Pomeranian that has wandered into the midst of wolves. "...there is someone here who doesn't belong." Akashi's shoulders shift slightly, and Aomine settles back to watch the show. (He's been acquainted with the business end of Akashi's scissors-and he doesn't have much empathy.) "I wish to speak only to my former teammates right now. Sorry, but could you leave?"

A sharp _eep_ escapes the Pomeranian's mouth as his legs begin to tremble. Tetsu's eyes narrow just slightly, and her voice holds a tone of sharp reprimand as she states (more like _orders_ ), "Seijūrō, you're scaring my teammate."

Akashi's eyes narrow as well (the only reason that Aomine can tell being that he has spent three years reading Tetsu's micro expressions), but he merely nods in acquiescence. "It was merely a joke. An 'icebreaker', as some would call it."

No one remarks upon the absolute ridiculousness of that statement.

"Well, you're no fun. Don't exclude us. I'm sure that we'll have some important contributions to this fun little pow wow."

Aomine rolls his eyes towards the newcomer, having recognized the voice that is among the few that he would remember anywhere, anytime, no matter what. _It's the voice of one of the most annoying bastards on the planet_. Internally, he's more than a little pissed that he hadn't been able to sense the wanna-be light's presence from a mile away. Begrudgingly, even Aomine admits that the bastard has a presence that may even rival his own.

"Kagami!" the Pomeranian barks, whirling around in said person's hold.

"I'm back." _No shit, Sherlock._ "We can talk later. First..." Even Aomine has to shake his head at the display of absolute _idiocy_ that he never believed the wanna-be to have. He must've misjudged the red-haired bastard. "You're Akashi, huh? Glad to meet you."

Akashi's lips stay clamped shut as he stares down at the idiot bastard, who's smirking like he just took over the world. It doesn't take long before Akashi's smooth voice sounds out, "Shintarou, could I borrow those scissors of your's?"

Even as Akashi slowly walks down the staircase, Midorima has already fished the scissors out, holding them in his taped grip. "What are you going to use them for?"

"Seijūrō," Tetsu says in warning, and Akashi merely smiles, taking the scissors from Midorima's grip.

"My hair is annoying me. I've been wanting to trim it." Akashi comes to a stop directly in front of the idiot, who's still smirking without a care in the world.

"If you wanted to cut your hair, you can do it after your first match," Tetsu says reasonably, stepping forward just slightly, but the small action conveys a whole world of meaning. Akashi's eye twitches slightly before he disdainfully drops the scissors. Midorima just barely manages to catch it before it hits the ground, a relieved expression on his face.

"You're Kagami-kun, aren't you?" Akashi's eyes bore into the idiot's face, who seems to have smartened up enough to at least stop smirking. Whether or not he understands the gravity of the situation he had just been in, Aomine isn't sure. When the one in question slowly nods, Akashi straightens just slightly, his lips curling upwards. It's not a smile, not really. "My, my. It seems that you've somehow managed to garner Tetsuya's protection. In light of that... _interesting_ fact, I'll forgive you this time. However, there will be no second chance. When I tell you to leave, leave. In this world, winning is everything. Winners are affirmed completely, and losers are denied completely. I've never lost at anything before, and I never will. Because I always win, and I am always right. I show no mercy to those who oppose me. Not even my own parents."

Silence reigns for a few seconds before Tetsu steps forward and lightly raps her knuckles against Akashi's head. He blinks, glancing down at her, startled.

"Kuroko!" the Pomeranian hisses, looking absolutely horrified, the idiot bastard mirroring his teammate's expression. "What are you doing?"

"Seijūrō, I won't tolerate you saying those types of things to my friends," Tetsu states, a steely look in her eyes as she stares her cousin down. "You do not have the right as of yet to talk about 'absoluteness.'"

"Oh?" Akashi's smile widens, heterochromatic eyes flashing in the light. "Pray tell me, Tetsuya, when I shall earn such a right."

Tetsu's eyes narrow imperceptibly before she straightens, reaching out and grabbing the wanna-be light's wrist in a firm grip. "Until your team has beaten Seirin on the court."

Akashi's lips thin into a disapproving line before he nods in acquiescence and turns around. "We shall see. If you're looking for Ryoma, she's in the Rakuzan locker room. Come and visit some time, Tetsuya. I've missed you."

"Oi, oi!" Aomine snaps just as Akashi takes a step to leave. "What the hell did you call all of us here for?"

"Ah." Akashi turns his head to look back at Aomine. "I just wanted to say hello to everyone today."

Aomine blinks, uncomprehending Akashi's words for a few moments before practically snarling, "What? Don't be ridiculous, Akashi! You summoned us _just_ for _that_?"

"No." Akashi's response is immediate, even as he continues to make his way up the stairs, followed by Tetsu, who's waving at her teammates, most likely telling them to go back without her. "I actually wanted to confirm something, but after seeing your faces, I realized that there was no need." His eyes sweep the gathered group of Miracles, lingering on Tetsu for a little bit before wandering back to Aomine. "No one has forgotten our promise. Everything's fine, then. The next time we meet will be on the court."

Tetsu comes to a stop next to Aomine before lightly tugging on his sleeve. He relaxes the fists that he had unconsciously balled, glancing down at his ex-partner, ignoring the idiot bastard's indignant roar. "What is it?"

"Did you want to see Ryoma-chan?" she asks, and Aomine wonders once again just how she does it. She doesn't even wait for him to answer before continuing. "Please do keep in mind that she is only thirteen years old when you talk to her. We really wouldn't want a repeat of last time."

Aomine blinks in shock as Tetsu loosens her grip on his sleeve and continues to follow Akashi, who's back is disappearing at a surprisingly fast rate. "Wait, what? She's _younger_ than me?"

Tetsu shoots him a strange look over her shoulder as he quickly catches up with her. "Of course she is. The top of her head doesn't even reach your chin, Aomine-kun."

"Well-I-" Aomine splutters in disbelief, still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he had an innuendo-off with a _child_ (although he has a feeling that said child wouldn't be so happy at being called a "child"). "-she-I-you- _fuck_."

"You made quite the impression on her," Tetsu remarks, and Aomine _swears_ that there's a hint of a smirk somewhere in there.

Neither of the two seem to notice the absolute confusion that they had left the rest of the gathered group of people in.

"Who's 'Ryoma,' and why do those three know her, Midorimacchi?"

"How do you expect me to know that, idiot?"

"You guys are all so _mean_ to me!"

"Mido-chin, can I borrow your scissors?"

"I already told you, no!"

"What? Since when did Echizen know Akashi?"

"You know her?"

"You don't?"

"Kagami...we should get going...Coach is really pissed off..."

" _Shit_."

* * *

Aomine trails behind Akashi and Tetsu, who are engaged in an annoyingly quiet conversation-so quiet that not even he can hear them. Then again, they're probably talking about some irrelevant shit that Aomine doesn't give a fuck about, so it doesn't particularly bother him. What he's mainly worrying about is: why the _fuck_ does he even want to talk to Echizen Ryoma? Especially after finding out that she's, apparently, only thirteen-three fucking years younger than him.

Sure, she's short, but there's just something about her that makes her seem much older than her actual age. Which only makes it worse because now Aomine remembers the flashes of discomfort he had thought nothing of previously, and he's putting the brain cells that he hardly ever uses to work right now, drawing connections and assumptions together to paint a not so pretty picture.

_What could've made her grow up so quickly?_

Aomine's so wrapped up in his thoughts, he barely notices the two cousins coming to a stop right in front of him until he almost runs Tetsu over. Swearing, he stumbles to a halt, glaring at Tetsu when she turns around to stare blankly at him. "Give a guy some warning, would you?"

"You're just too much of a basketball idiot to notice, Aomine-kun."

"Hey!"

"Oi, Seijūrō, where'd you go?"

Aomine instinctively straightens at the familiar voice, only baring his teeth when Tetsu sends him an annoyingly knowing glance. Rakuzan's locker room door swings open, and out steps the devil spawn herself, Echizen Ryoma. Golden eyes flicker from Akashi to Tetsu (Aomine wonders just when and how this girl managed to master the art of "seeing" Tetsu immediately) to Aomine. Her lips twist into a frown, even as she steps aside to let Akashi in. "What the hell is he doing here?"

"Nice to see you too, pipsqueak," Aomine replies sardonically, only to let out a (high-pitched) yelp when Tetsu digs her sharp elbow into the bottom of his ribcage, the highest place that she can easily manage to reach. "What the hell was that for, Tetsu?"

"Play nice, Aomine-kun, Ryoma-chan," the blue-haired girl warns before following Akashi in. As she passes by Echizen, she lightly pinches the girl's cheek, receiving a sullen glare in response.

"I spend my break training with you, and _this_ is how you repay me?" Echizen gripes, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the door.

"It's not like you would've done anything worthwhile otherwise!" an unfamiliar voice breaks into the conversation, and Aomine watches with raised eyebrows as an orange-haired Kise knock-off bounces up to Echizen, throwing his arm around her shoulders. She roughly shrugs it off, but he doesn't seem to bothered by it, merely flashing an impish grin at her. The expression reveals the point of a snaggletooth, excessively sharp for its nature. If Aomine remembers correctly (which he may or may not), the Kise knock-off is one of the three Crownless Generals in Rakuzan-Hayama Kotarou, was it? The tanned teen remembered playing against him during middle school-ridiculously energetic, but talented as well. Even Aomine had a little bit of trouble blocking his dribble. "But damn, Ryoma, you sure get around! I didn't know that you knew Aomine Daiki!"

"'Know' is a bit of a stretch," Echizen sniffs, sending Aomine a dirty look before ducking around Hayama and retreating further into the room. Hayama snorts, taking Echizen's previous position of leaning against the door to stare at Aomine with sharp eyes that contrast the goofy grin that still stretches his lips.

"You got on her bad side, huh?" he muses before shrugging. "Meh, that happens to practically everyone. Anyways, why'd you come here, Aomine Daiki, ace of the Generation of Miracles?"

Aomine sighs, shoving his hands into his pockets. Suddenly, he feels ridiculously foolish. What had he been expecting, coming here? It wasn't as if he was friends with Echizen-hell, they weren't even on speaking terms. He could say that he's scouting, but it's not like anyone would believe that shit. All he'd really done is waste precious time that could've been spent reading the magazines stashed in the bottom of his locker, or even just relaxing out back without having to worry about Wakamatslut or Imayoshit (his creativity is boundless-but only when it comes to insulting people) shouting at him to practice drills or stretch or other useless shit like that.

"Just to see the team that I'll beat in finals," Aomine says casually, and almost regrets it immediately afterwards.

_Almost._

Hayama freezes just slightly, smile pasted to his face as the annoyingly amicable aura from before fades away. From what little Aomine can see of the locker room at the angle he's standing at, it seems that the rest of Rakuzan, including Echizen and Tetsu, has frozen as well. Echizen's eyes are narrowed on him, and Tetsu's are fixed resolutely on Akashi, who stares impassively at Aomine, scarily unreadable. (Akashi has never been easily read, and sure he's pretty intimidating, but Aomine has never had both simultaneously occur at such a level.)

Tetsu, surprisingly, is the first to break the silence with, "We shall see," in an eerie imitation, almost mockery, of Akashi's previous words.

There's nothing else to be said.

Without another word, Aomine turns and walks away, painfully aware of two pairs of burning eyes boring holes into his back.

* * *

"They're coming out!"

"You can do it, Seirin!"

"They're here!"

"How many point will they score today?"

"The rising tyrant, Touou Academy!"

"And the prodigal scorer of the Generation of Miracles, Aomine Daiki!"

"No one can beat him one-on-one."

"They say no one can tell what Imayoshi will do next."

"I've never seen a center run like Wakamatsu, either."

Aomine doesn't bother to hide a yawn as he strolls onto the court, making his way towards Touou's bench. All of the noise is starting to give him a headache. He wishes that he weren't here right now, but Coach said that he had to show up for the entire match from now on.

Honestly, if it weren't for Akashi, he probably wouldn't even be playing basketball.

"You can tell that they place second in the Inter-High." Aomine can hear Seirin's captain, the bipolar one, say, even as he drops onto the bench and stretches his arms.

"Don't lose your cool." The unsexy girl coach orders, and Aomine can detect an underlying steel that hadn't been there before. "We knew..." She doesn't continue, and out of some sort of indifferent curiosity, Aomine glances over, even as he cracks his neck. All of Seirin's players, Tetsu included, are smiling-easygoing ones that remind Aomine of that annoying one on their time, Kiyoshi Teppei, but they all hold that underlying steel the unsexy girl coach spoke with.

_Good. Maybe they'll be a little fun this time._

The last match was...disappointing, really.

_"It's time. Both schools, please line up."_

There had been no need for Touou to say anything, even as its members rise and make their way towards the center of the court. Everything they had to say was said in the privacy of their locker rooms, and now, all they have to do is win.

"Okay, let's go!" The bipolar's shout echoes throughout the rowdy gym, quickly followed by shouts of confirmation by the rest of Seirin. Aomine watches as the idiot bastard comes directly up to him, stopping in front of him.

"Hey." When Aomine meets his eyes, he's slightly taken aback by the simmering silent confidence he finds in the other's eyes-almost as if Seirin has already won. No words are exchanged, even as Aomine responds in kind with a smirk.

"You seem to have improved a little," the tanned teen admits raising his chin slightly.

"Maa, yeah."

Tetsu comes up behind her wanna-be light, eyes fixed on Aomine. For once, he stays silent, watching her as emotions flicker unguarded through her eyes, an entire movie visible only to someone who is as close to her as Aomine is. A slight smile quirks her lips, even as she finally says, "We definitely won't lose this time."

The absolute confidence in her voice sparks something within Aomine, and maybe, just _maybe_ , this match won't be a drag after all. His smirk widens. "That's good. That's a good look in your eyes. In that case, let's settle things once and for all. I won't go easy on you."

The buzzer sounds, and Tetsu and the idiot bastard both turn to leave, but Aomine can still hear her say, "And I as well."

_"The game between Seirin High and Touou High will now begin!"_

"Let's have a good game." Imayoshit and bipolar shake hands on the center circle, firm grips shaking once, twice, before releasing. Bipolar is the first to turn, and Imayoshit watches with that creepy ass smile of his before walking back to his position.

It seems that everyone can notice the change in Seirin.

The referee holds the ball in between Wakamatslut and Kiyoshi, both of who tense their muscles as they get ready to jump for it. Aomine stays relaxed, even as the ball leaves the referee's hands and flies up into the air, quickly followed by the two players. Kiyoshi's hand reaches the ball first, and he slams it over Wakamatslut's head, directly into number five's hands. Number five immediately takes off, flanked by the rest of Seirin. As expected, they're hoping to score the first point of the game.

"How terrifying!" Imayoshit laughs, even as he gives leisurely chase after the Seirin players. "Go easy on us to start, won't you?" Touou's captain easily cuts in, blocking number five as the rest of Touou find their marks.

"They're not underestimating us!"

"They're playing like it's the end of the game!"

"Underestimate you?" Imayoshit parrots, that shit-eating grin of his widening as number five's frustration mounts. "You must be kidding! We don't think that you're _that_ bad! If anything, we're playing as hard as we can."

Number five's hands make a quick motion to pass towards Bipolar, but Imayoshit catches it by the edge of his fingers, slowing it enough for Sakurai to hit it back towards the opposite end of court. The apologetic shrimp of a guy races after it, gaining possession of the ball and dribbling down court, jumping up to make a quick basket.

_Or so Seirin thinks._

With all eyes focused on Sakurai, Aomine easily slips past the rest of Seirin (maybe not Tetsu, but there's no way that she could possibly block him anyways-and she _knows_ that) to make the alley-oop that Sakurai had just set up.

The stadium bursts into noise as the ball slams into the ground, quickly followed by Aomine. He turns just as the wanna-be light (the term only affirmed with his late arrival) comes to a stop behind him. "Ah? You're finally here? You sure took your time."

"It's really too bad that you couldn't start strong and take the lead," Imayoshit drives the point home, even as Kiyoshi picks up the ball. "Sorry, but we did it first."

Kiyoshi passes the ball in to number five before running in, quickly tailed by Wakamatslut and Susa. Aomine quickly goes in to mark Tetsu, whose arm is raised in a familiar position. _I told you already, Tetsu...so what are you trying to do?_

Number five passes the ball towards Tetsu, who unclenches her fist and takes a step forward. Her eyes glint, even as she answers his unasked question (how _does_ she do that?). "I'm sorry, Aomine-kun, but this is a little different from an Ignite Pass." As the ball lines up with her arm, she twists her body further to the side, falling into a form both familiar and alien to Aomine at the same time. "Ignite Pass Kai!"

Aomine can just barely make out the twisting of her arms and wrist before she twists her shoulders and hips violently, punching the ball. He can only watch as it shoots from Tetsu's hand all the way to the hoop, slamming away the hand that he had raised to intercept the pass (is it even a pass at this point?). Aomine swears at the explosion of pain that blooms across his palm, but more so at the fact that _Tetsu has created a pass that not even he can catch._

Whirling around, he sees Kiyoshi just barely grab hold of the decelerated ball, cheered on by the Seirin benchwarmers. He goes to make a dunk, but is quickly followed by Wakamatslut, who grabs hold of the ball. "No, you don't!"

Kiyoshi quickly turns his wrist down, yanking the ball out of the deadlock that it had been in and tossing it behind him. The idiot bastard grabs hold of the floating ball, slamming it into the hoop.

Around them, Aomine can hear the eruption of the stadium, exclaiming over the points, but everything is underwater right now. His hand is still shaking. Tetsu's new pass... _Ignite Pass Kai._ "So that's how it is." Tetsu glances up at him, face as infuriatingly blank as ever. "I can have some fun with you now, Tetsu. But tell me, how are your eyes?" _How were you able to see through my defense?_

Tetsu's right eye twitches, even as she turns around and replies with a vague non-answer. "I'd be surprised if you thought I hadn't changed."

"Don't you jump the gun now..." Imayoshit breathes, bouncing the ball as his eyes slits open. "We've only just started."

Number five goes to mark the Touou captain, who merely smiles as he easily flicks the ball out of number five's reach when he dives in to steal the ball. Susa catches it, and even as Tetsu goes in to guard him, the difference in height is too much to make up for, and Susa easily makes the basket.

The ball is thrown in again, and dribbled down to Seirin's side. A shot is made, and the ball bounces off the rim. "Rebound!"

Kiyoshi and Wakamatslut both jump up to take it, the latter grabbing hold of it at the last second. "There!"

Aomine finds himself pitying Kiyoshi for being the one right next to Wakamatslut as he screams.

The ball is passed to Sakurai, who sinks a quick three.

Aomine finds himself smiling as the ball is thrown in. He can _smell_ the intent in the air. Even as he steps in towards the guy, the ball is passed towards the wanna-be light, landing solidly in his hands.

"Hey, now, are you sure about that?" Imayoshit laughs. "It'd be a big thing to open it, but I wouldn't recommend that."

Aomine's smile widens into a smirk as he comes to a stop directly in front of Kagami Taiga.

"That's the gate of a demon."

_Are you ready to give me some good entertainment yet?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko Tetsuya: 11  
> Kagami Taiga: 10  
> Kiyoshi Teppei: 7  
> Hyuuga Junpei: 4  
> Izuki Shun: 5


	15. Fifteenth: Shards

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because Imayoshi deserves more credit.
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Imayoshi is a man (or should he say teenager? He's nothing if not accurate) who can easily detach himself from the current situation to view things from an omniscient point of view. It's the reason that he's survived this long in the competitive world of basketball-besides having the natural wealth of talent, as most in Touou do.

As a result, he would say that he is among the less than five percent of the current human population with an actual working brain. That isn't necessarily to say that other people are brainless-rather, they just don't _use_ them.

So it comes as a sort of surprise to him, not that anyone would ever know, when Kagami and Aomine face off against each other for a few seconds (it doesn't sound like much, but in fast-paced matches, it means the difference between crying after a loss and crying after a win), the only movement on court being the bouncing of the ball against the floor of the court, a result of Kagami's constant dribbling. No one dares make a move or even _breathe_ as the two aces continue to stand in silence just a few feet away from each other.

Using all of his self-proclaimed (and proclaimed by others, though in more fearful and less prideful tones) cleverness and intelligence, Imayoshi can easily deduce that the two basketball idiots are actually using their _brains._

Really, it's quite the shocking revelation.

Izuki's and the rest of Seirin's eye are focused on the duo. Really, what a rookie mistake. If Touou were any other team, Imayoshi would've easily broken past Izuki, prompting Aomine to steal the ball in Kagami's lax grip and pass it to the Touou captain to make a quick basket.

But Touou isn't any other team, and they don't play as a team.

"They aren't moving at all."

"It's been almost five seconds."

As if coming to a conclusion, a huff leaves Kagami as he pulls back just slightly and tosses the ball to Izuki, who catches it, looking just as surprised as the others on court.

"It's no use." Even as Seirin's coach gets up to call a time out, Kagami sighs. "It sucks, but I can't win this. Not yet, that is."

_"Seirin High, time out!"_

Imayoshi's smile only widens as Kagami jogs past him towards Seirin's bench, following the crowd of black and white wearing basketball players. It's actually quite convenient, what Kagami did.

Imayoshi can see a flash of white across Aomine's face.

"Seriously?"

"I thought we'd get to see the aces duke it out..."

"That Kagami ran away without doing anything at all!"

"Lame."

"Listen to them running their mouths," Imayoshi laughs as he accepts the towel that one of the benchwarmers hands him, "You know, I thought you two lost your guts with how long you stood there staring into each other's eyes."

"Whatever," Aomine drawls, shooting a scathing glare at the Touou captain, who merely shrugs in response. "I don't give a fuck about little shits who jerk off to watching other people play basketball."

"Dai-chan!" Momoi gasps, whacking the his bicep with the back of her clipboard. Ignoring the colorful explosion that leaves his mouth, she stands up, popping her hands onto her fist, a glower on her face as she glares down at the teen who's rubbing at a quickly bruising patch on his bicep. "Language! There are cameras everywhere!"

"Like I fucking care," Aomine grumbles under his breath, a clear mistake, because a moment later, another burst of rainbows leaves him as Momoi slams her clipboard into his stomach.

"I'm starting to wonder why I even joined this team," Susa mutters, capping his bottle after taking his customary three sips of water (when asked, Susa gave a long winded explanation about how his father before him and his father's father before him and his father's father's father before him and so on so forth had a tradition about drinking three sips of water before, during, and after important events-basketball matches, family reunions, wrestling alligators in the sewers illegally-the works).

"It's because _he_ didn't join until this year," Wakamatsu grumbles, jerking his thumb towards Aomine, who is currently being thoroughly chewed out by a shrill-voiced Momoi.

"Now, now, let's not fight just yet," Imayoshi says, raising a placating hand. "We still have to focus our attention and energy on this match."

"Tch," Aomine scoffs, standing up as the buzzer sounds and the two teams walk back onto court amidst loud cheers.

Izuki starts off with the ball, dribbling down the court until reaching the halfway mark and passing to Hyuuga, who catches it solidly in his hands. Sakurai immediately races up to mark his Seirin counterpart, a look of determination pulling at the timid boy's face.

"You sure about that?" Sakurai jerks back, surprise flashing across his face as Hyuuga smirks. "You're standing pretty far away."

Before Sakurai can comprehend the Seirin captain's words, Hyuuga shifts backward a good few feet away from Sakurai, smoothly going through the motions of a three-pointer. The ball leaves his fingertips, sinking into the net perfectly.

"What?" Wakamatsu shouts.

"He just..." Sakurai looks rather shell-shocked, and, not for the first time, Imayoshi wonders just how this little shrimp of a boy managed to get into basketball, much less _Touou_ of all schools, with that mindset of his. (Then again, that very mindset has provided to be surprisingly resilient and...admirable, so to speak-maybe it isn't so bad after all.)

"The first years aren't the only ones who have grown," Hyuuga states, a note of pride and righteous indignation in his voice. "You apologetic mushroom."

_Well. That's actually pretty accurate._

The game continues, and the ball is passed straight to Hyuuga again. Sakurai can only watch desperately as the Seirin captain slides backwards, faster than the Touou shooting guard can even think of blocking, and sinks another basket.

"It looks like they picked up another annoying trick," Imayoshi remarks, keeping a close eye on Sakurai, who can only stare at the place Hyuuga had been in previously.

"Are you okay, Sakurai?" Susa is the one to approach the smallest Touou member, being the only teammate who particularly _cares_ about the mental wellbeing of his teammates (even Aomine). "Do you need help?"

"No, I'm fine. I can do it alone."

Imayoshi's smile widens as he turns around, Wakamatsu letting out a surprised exclamation before quickly running to catch up to the Touou captain. "What, you aren't worried about him?"

"He's got a good look in his eyes," is all Imayoshi says before he slips into position and the ball is in play again.

"Their defense is amazing!"

The determined look from before is back, Sakruai keeping a firm hold of the ball as Hyuuga zealously guards him.

"Give me the ball, Sakurai!" Susa shouts, holding up his hands.

Sakurai lets out a sharp breath before leaping up, forcing a shot through Hyuuga's guard.

"He forced the shot!"

Imayoshi follows the curve of the arch as the ball sinks neatly into the basket.

"How can he make it with such a quick release?" Izuki shouts, wide-eyed and shocked.

Imayoshi chuckles, drawing Seirin's point guard's attention to him. "Don't get the wrong idea." Izuki grits his teeth, and Imayoshi tilts his head to the side, enjoying this far more than most people would (then again, he isn't exactly classified as "most people"). "He didn't become a starter just because he can shoot a little quickly. The stronger his opponent, the more accurate Sakurai's shots become. After all, despite his looks..."

"I'm going to win."

Izuki glances towards Sakurai, whose eyes are fixed solidly on Hyuuga, who in turn responds with an articulate, "Huh?"

Sakurai's surprisingly mature expression immediately melts into an unsurprisingly childish pout as he mumbles, "After all, I'm better."

"What?"

"As a shooter, he hates losing more than anyone else," Imaoyshi finishes rather unnecessarily, the shit-eating grin on is face only widening even more. "So, please, don't misunderstand us. We won't win purely because of superior talent."

As Imayoshi makes his way to follow Sakurai, he hears Hyuuga say, "Izuki, keep passing to me."

"Sure...you're riled up, aren't you?"

"Yeah...he's just annoying! Quit pouting like that!"

Nothing short than an all-out shooting war occurs next. For every single shot that Hyuuga makes, Sakurai follows with an equally as clean basket.

"They're making all their shots!"

"Neither team's giving up!"

Five seconds left of the first quarter, and the score is 19-22 with Touou leading. Imayoshi can hear the murmurs of the crowd and even the wisps of thoughts running through his teammates' minds, but he, instinctually, knows that Seirin won't take this laying down.

And he's right.

"We're not finished yet."

At the sound of the light voice, so contrasting to the deeper voices around her, even Imayoshi jerks slightly in surprise as Kuroko Tetsuya pelts down the court, at a faster speed than he had thought her capable of, soon followed by a blur of orange. Susa marks her, falling into a defensive position, but without a single break, Kuroko catches the ball and drives past him, leaving a shell-shocked Susa in her wake.

"Bastard!" Wakamatsu snarls, replacing Susa as a blocker, and Kuroko draws up, tossing the ball behind her towards Hyuuga, resulting in an indignant squawk from Wakamatsu.

The ball leaves Hyuuga's hands as the timer ticks down to zero, sinking neatly into the basket just as the buzzer sounds.

"They're tied!"

"Seirin's amazing!"

"They caught up with a buzzer beater!"

Imaoyshi ignores the crowd as he walks up to Susa. _Might as well take advantage of this._ "Susa, how was it?"

"Yeah...Momo was right."

Imayoshi grins widely. "It's decided, then."

Touou moves towards the bench, immediately greeted with a flurry of towels and water bottles. Momoi stands up in front of them, a serious look on her face that is never seen when off court. "I'm sure that by now you all have an idea of how the Vanishing Drive works."

Imayoshi takes a sip of his water before nodding and responding. "Kuroko Tetsuya has an exceptional eyesight." The way that both Momoi and Aomine stiffen at his words doesn't escape the Touou captain's attention. "First, her movements. She ducks in diagonally. The human eye can track vertical and horizontal movements, but has trouble with diagonal movements. Combining that knowledge with a sharp mind and her sharper eyes, Kuroko can read people's vision and ducks in at particularly difficult angles."

Momoi nods, glancing down at the clipboard in her hands. Though Aomine has gone back to his usual indifferent self, Momoi is worrying at her bottom lip with her teeth. "Most players can't stop her based on that alone, but that drive only makes her seem to disappear. The Vanishing Drive can only be effective in the right conditions."

"Conditions?" Wakamatsu echoes, clear confusion etched across his face.

"More than conditions...Tetsu-chan can't use that drive alone."

"Huh?"

"When a certain condition has been met, the Vanishing Drive is complete."

"Condition..." Sakurai gasps as his head jerks up. "Don't tell me-"

"It's Kagami-kun," Momoi affirms, grip tightening just the slightest on her clipboard. "His presence on the court is exceptional. On the court, the ball has the most presence. That's why Tetsu-chan can't misdirect her opponent's vision when she has the ball. However, she can misdirect their attention to the improved Kagami-kun for a moment."

"It makes a world of difference," Imayoshi chimes in, lifting his glasses to wipe the sweat off of his face.

"That's the secret behind the Vanishing Drive," Momoi finishes, nodding her head in acknowledgement. "In other words, she can only use the Vanishing Drive when Kagami-kun is in her opponent's vision."

Wakamatsu smirks, straightening his back. "We just need to pull Kagami and Kuroko apart, then. That's easy. As long as Aomine stays on Kagami-"

Aomine snorts. "No way."

"What?" Wakamatsu immediately jumps up from his seat on the bench, teeth bared and eyes narrowed as his short fuse is blown. "Don't be ridiculous!"

"I could say the same about you," Aomine responds offhandedly, not at all fazed by the outburst. "Don't let then do it, keep Kagami away, stop the ball from reaching Tetsu-why do I have to be the team's errand boy?" Aomine stands, eyes burning across the court. "If they want to do it, let them. They couldn't pass me even if hell froze over. The only one who can beat me is me."

Wakamatsu splutters as Momoi closes her eyes, a soft, resigned sigh leaving her.

The game continues. Susa marks Kuroko, who's running down court, but is quickly blocked off by a screen by Kagami. Imayoshi is unable to stop the pass that Izuki makes, and mentally curses himself as the orange blur lands solidly in Kuroko's hands. Aomine immediately comes up in front of his ex-partner.

"Aomine and the little girl are going one-on-one?"

"What the hell? There was a girl here in the first place?"

"Impossible!"

_In this situation, there's only one thing to do._

"I'm glad you understand, Tetsu," Aomine breathes, muscles tensed and ready to move at the first sign movement from Kuroko. "We get along when it comes to basketball."

"I agree!" she replies before pushing forward, passing by Aomine.

"Go!"

Imayoshi's eyes narrow slightly and then Aomine is there, several steps backward, blocking Kuroko's way.

"No way!"

"What just-!"

The tanned teen's eyes are closed.

"His eyes!"

 _I didn't know you had it in you, Aomine._ Imayoshi is unable to repress the laugh the bubbles up. _As long as he can't see Kagami, his reactions won't be delayed._

Kuoko's eyes widen as Aomine's arm moves in a blur, slamming the ball out of her possession as he steals it and immediately runs in the opposite direction. Her blue eyes glisten, and Imayoshi can't tell whether it's from the fluorescent lighting or if it's from something else.

Aomine easily reaches the basket and slams the ball into the net, a resounding thump echoing throughout the silent court even as the audience surrounding them explodes into cheers and roars.

"Don't get the wrong idea, Tetsu," Aomine drawls, glancing at his ex-partner over his shoulder. Kuroko's eyes are fixed on him. "A shadow doesn't exist without light. No matter how much you struggle, it never works the other way." He slowly walks up to her, his height easily towering her petite frame. In that moment, the Phantom Sixth Woman of the Generation of Miracles looks so _small_. "A shadow can't defeat the light."

Imayoshi had never put much stock into rumors-especially rumors that circulated the basketball circuit. He's a sensible man who believes in the power of evidence-something that rumors rarely have. So it's no wonder that the first few times he had heard whispers of a sixth addition to the gathering of geniuses in Teiko Middle School, one that could disappear and reappear at will, he had brushed them off as nothing more than the fantasies of teenage boys- _especially_ when more and more rumors cropped up-many of them emphasizing the fact that this mystery player was a _girl_.

They may be basketball players, but that doesn't exempt them from being horny teenagers.

But then, more stories came-this time, from more reputable sources. Basketball magazines, renowned basketball coaches, both junior high and high school, making statements about the phantom girl player, even unmistakable clues dropped by the Generation of Miracles themselves that, while not explicitly affirming or denying the existence of a sixth Miracle, were unable to be ignored by even the most skeptical of skeptics-of which Imayoshi was a part of.

And then the junior high national basketball association* itself released an official statement that sent the entire country of Japan into a frenzy during Imayoshi's first year in high school.

_The rumored girl playing on Tekio's first string was real._

That changed a lot of things.

When Imayoshi became captain, the first thing that he made sure to do was scout out potential new players-and his first stop was Teiko.

The third and final year of the tyranny of the Generation of Miracles over junior high basketball was also the cruelest one. Imayoshi watched Teiko's semifinal match of the junior high Winter Cup (considering that the junior high and high school tournaments coincidentally overlapped that year, it wasn't too hard for him to move in between sports halls). There were only five people on court at the time, and zero benched players.

_At least, it seemed so._

Imayoshi had been ready to leave-after all, it was nothing more than a _slaughter_ out there. The other team had given up before they even walked onto court-there was nothing fun about watching a snake kill a mouse that had didn't even try to fight back, and there was nothing fun about watching Teiko show no mercy as the Generation of Miracles crushed their opponents (Imayoshi had been well aware of the bad reputation that the rainbow-haired folk had managed to create for themselves-after all, it was hard not to when there's more drama on the junior high courts than there is on the high school courts). Just as he had made the decision to turn around, the halftime buzzer sounded and the Teiko players made their way back to the bench. The tanned one, Aomine Daiki, reached first, but he stopped right in front of an empty space and began _talking_. Imayoshi could see his mouth moving up and down, and it definitely didn't look like he was talking to his teammates-all of them seemed preoccupied with being bored.

So instead of deciding to dismiss the scene as Aomine being a possibly mentally unstable hazard to society (because there was absolutely _no way_ that Imayoshi could've possibly seen something wrong), Iamyoshi decided to look closer and pay attention.

And that was when he saw it-the flash of blue shades lighter than Aomine's own, and Iamyoshi almost had a heart attack.

A blue-haired girl wearing the number sixteen jersey.

Even after seeing her in real life, it was hard for Iamyoshi to fully comprehend the fact that _yes, there is a Phantom Sixth Woman_ and _shit, I somehow didn't see her for the first half of the game._

It'd be a blow to his pride, really, to acknowledge that he hadn't been able to single out the lone girl on the basketball court, not to mention that hair which acted as more of a beacon than a head covering, but now he knew for sure that he should start putting more stock into rumors.

Imayoshi had never meet Aomine personally until the tanned teen had shown up a week after the start of basketball practice, having been dragged there by Momoi, who _had_ shown up the first day of practice with a mouthful of apologies when they asked her where Aomine Daiki was.

In fact, the only reason that Touou had even recruited Aomine was because of Kuroko Tetsuya.

After that match (Imayoshi had ended up staying the entire game, hoping that number sixteen would be put out onto court, disappointed that she never left the bench until long after the game was over), the Touou captain had gone back home and scoured for information about her. He had found out her name, the speculations about her playing style, old articles and videos of games with her in them (and he had to agree that her nickname was extremely fitting-she really _was_ a phantom), even interesting observations about the slight shift in both her's and Teiko's basketball during their second year of middle school, but the one thing that he could not find was the reason as to why she was benched for the entire game. He found that she hadn't been playing in official matches, had hardly been playing in _any_ matches, official or not, since the end of second year, and yet all he could find as to _why_ were bogus theories and propositions with no evidence whatsoever to back them up.

And Imayoshi, being the meticulous person he was, couldn't let that go.

So he decided to pay Teiko a visit. After letting his coach know that he was going out to scout a few promising players (that was the day he also recruited Sakurai on Harasawa's whim), he had made his way to Teiko and, upon reaching the basketball courts, requested to talk to Kuroko Tetsuya.

At the time, Aomine had been the only Miracle not at practice.

Teiko's coach had lead him to his office, returning with Kuroko a little while later. It took a few seconds for Imayoshi to locate her, but when he did, he cordially held out a hand and gave her a good, firm handshake. He wanted to leave a good first impression on her, since he was sure that she would hate him later for all of the probing questions that he had no shame in asking, but if the unimpressed look she seemed to shoot him (he couldn't quite tell, considering the ridiculous blankness of her face) was anything to go by, she saw right through his act.

"It seems that you already know why I'm here," Imayoshi started, and Kuroko nodded in response, sitting straight and proper in her seat across from him, eyes locked unnervingly on his face. "I'll cut right to the chase, then. Kuroko Tetsuya, you interest me. Why were you benched ever since last year?"

"If you aren't looking to recruit any Teiko players, I suggest that you leave right now," Kuroko responds, voice soft and polite yet undeniably cold.

"Now, now, that's no way to treat a guest."

"You are intruding on school property. We had every right to send you to the office for first not attaining a visitor's pass. We had every right to send you away for demanding a meeting with me without prior warning. However, due to Coach Sanada's hospitality, he agreed to disrupt practice further and allow you to speak with me. You are a guest merely because we _made_ you one. We can just as easily revoke your 'guest' status."

Imayoshi raised his hands, eyebrows raised high on his forehead. He really hadn't expected her to take his lighthearted (well, to him, it was) jibe in such a way, but then again, that had been an expression of pure emotion-something that he was _sure_ that not many people were allowed to see. "I didn't mean any offense. I merely wanted to be as efficient as possible."

Kuroko sighed, and it almost seemed like she deflated in front of his very eyes. When Imayoshi glanced towards the coach, he looked slightly alarmed-and no wonder, since Imayoshi had read (and inferred himself) that the entirety of Kuroko's basketball is built on the fact that she doesn't show her emotions. And while her face was still as blank as the first time he had seen it (in a picture on some magazine covering one of Teiko's games in the beginning of their second year-even then, hovering at the edges of her celebrating team, Kuroko's facial muscles hadn't shifted a millimeter), the fact that Imayoshi could just barely distinguish between her moods was probably equivalent to Kuroko wearing her heart on her sleeve. "I apologize for my rudeness. I did not mean to snap at you."

"Stressed? Don't know which high school to go to?"

"No. I have already decided."

"Really? Where're you going?"

"Are you looking to recruit any Teiko players?"

"Answering a question with a completely unrelated question. You aren't even trying, are you?"

Kuroko looked as if she wanted to sigh again, but she held back, merely raising her hands to rest them on the table. "You are Imayoshi Shouichi, correct? The captain of Touou?"

"Oh? You knew?"

"I make sure to keep tabs on all noticeable basketball players."

"I'm flattered. I think."

"I've watched a few of Touou's games. You must be looking for strong players right about now."

"What are you saying about my team?"

"Nothing, just that you should understand that with your current roster, you would be rather hard-pressed to win any national tournaments."

"What do you suggest, then?"

"There is a...player here, whose basketball style aligns with Touou's. If you would like, I'm sure that Coach Sanada would be willing to arrange a meeting with his friend."

"His friend?"

"He doesn't show up for practice anymore these days, so the easiest way to get in contact with him is to go through her."

"What makes you think that I would want a player who doesn't even go to practice on my team?"

Kuroko's eyes burned into his face and her voice grew slightly more assertive as she stated, "I believe that Touou is a team that can change him. I believe that Touou has the ability to nurture him. I believe that you are a good captain. Am I wrong?"

"I would hope not."

"Ask for Aomine Daiki and Momoi Satsuki. Good day to you, Imayoshi Shouichi. I'm sure that the next time we'll meet will be on court."

She was right. The next time he met her, they were standing on opposite sides of the court. Iamyoshi had been shocked to hear that Kuroko Tetsuya had joined Seirin, of all schools. It was a backwater little high school that, despite its success the previous year, could hardly be counted as a basketball powerhouse. Imayoshi had assumed that she had ended up attending some famous school like Rakuzan or Kaijo, like her ex-teammates, but then word got out that Seirin was a dark horse in the Inter-High Tournament with magical passes and a _girl_ on a supposed-to-be all _boy's_ basketball team who could disappear and reappear at will, and Imayoshi had never really put much stock into rumors, but when it came to Kuroko Tetsuya, he knew that she could change everything he knew and believed in.

So, in all honesty, it really hadn't surprised him all that much when he saw that shock of teal blue hair across the court when Touou was matched against Seirin.

They never outright acknowledged the connection between them, but she had nodded to him and he had nodded at her right before the game started, and when Seirin lost, he had lingered longer than necessary in the locker rooms before taking the long way out of the gym, which led him right past Seirin's locker room, where he heard Kagami's last words to the broken girl right before the red-haired idiot left without even catching sight of Imayoshi standing to the side, wanting to do nothing more than punch the living daylights out of him because _couldn't he tell that what Kuroko Tetsuya needed right now wasn't another basketball player who gave up on her_?

He's starting to understand her a little more, bit by bit, with every poisoned barb that comes out of Aomine's mouth, each one aimed directly at her unprotected heart.

Aomine brushes past Kuroko as if she's nothing more than dirt on the bottom of her shoe. Her eyes have dropped from his face to the ground, and she doesn't look up even as he walks past and leaves her behind.

"Kuroko!" Izuki, for once not using the brain that Imayoshi is pretty sure that he has, passes the ball in to Kuroko, who pulls her arm back, teeth gritted so hard, Imayoshi's surprised that they don't crack.

"Time out!" Imayoshi can hear Seirin's coach practically shout.

"Kuroko!" Kagami warns, but both are already too late.

Her hand shifts as her body settles into a familiar form, one that had created the pass from earlier that swatted Aomine's hand away like a swatter did a fly, except this time, the movements are much jerkier, much less smooth, and Imayoshi already knows that the ball won't be getting past Aomine this time.

"Don't do it, Kuroko!" Izuki shouts, but she doesn't seem to be listening, muscles tensing as she fully pulls her arm back. "Hyuuga and Kiyoshi haven't shaken their marks!"

Her hand slams into the ball, and the impact is marked by an explosion of sound, heading directly for Aomine.

"Idiot," the tanned teen says before raising his hand and stopping the ball.

A single hand, raised almost as if it were nothing more than a second thought.

_I really didn't think that you had it in you, Aomine Daiki._

"Did you really think that the same move would work twice against me?" Aomine drawls contemptuously, the ball dropping from a hand unmarred by any marks or color, as if Kuroko's pass truly had no effect on him. "Try not to disappoint me so much, Tetsu. If this is your answer to defeating me, I'll make it clear. It's a useless effort."

In one fell swoop, he dribbles the ball up from the ground, easily passing by a frozen Kuroko. Izuki attempts to block him, but he easily ducks around the shoddy block.

"You're not going anywhere!" Kagami snarls, fury brimming in his voice.

Without any sign of being bothered by Kagami's roar, Aomine bends to the side, arm stretching up as he shoots around Kagami's hands. The ball lands into the net neatly, a heavy contrast to the unconventional form that Aomine used to shoot.

"Impossible! He can't make that shot!"

"Aomine's formless shot!"

"Calm down!" Izuki calls as he dribbles down court with the ball. "Let's get them back!"

He passes towards an open Hyuuga, but Wakamatsu easily steals the sloppy pass, taking the ball down court as Seirin merely stares at him in shock, not even attempting to give chase. He makes a quick layup, and the points rack up.

One minute into the second quarter, and the score is 24-30 in Touou's favor.

_"Seirin High, time out!"_

Imayoshi takes a mouthful of water while wiping his face free of sweat simultaneously. When he glances at Seirin's bench, he can just barely catch a glimpse of Kuroko sitting on the far end of the bench, a towel draped over the top of her head. Aomine, in a matter of seconds, has broken her.

"Wasn't that a bit too harsh?" Sakurai asks softly from right next to Aomine, only to flinch back and raise his hands when all eyes turn on him. "I'm sorry! That was out of line! I didn't mean to say anything! I _shouldn't_ say anything! I'm sorry!"

"Not really," Aomine drawls over Sakurai's continuous stream of apologies and increasingly depressing put downs. "She just needs to be put in her place."

"Like someone _else_ sitting here," Wakamatsu grumbles, shooting a glare at Aomine over the top of his bottle.

Aomine shrugs before dropping a towel over his face, making clear that his participation in any further conversation would be nonexistent.

Kuroko isn't the one who steps out onto court once the time out ends. She sits on the bench, towel over her head, face pointed towards her lap. When Imayoshi glances towards Aomine, the tanned teen is watching her. An undecipherable emotion flashes through his eyes before Kagami steps up, blocking Aomine's view of Kuroko. The Seirin ace's eyes are sharp and focused, more so than in the previous twelve or so minutes of the game.

Seirin starts with the ball, Izuki and Kiyoshi running down court as the former dribbles the ball. It's immediately passed to Kagami, who's being guarded by Aomine. Their eyes are locked on each other for a moment before Kagami throws the ball over to Kiyoshi. Izuki and Imayoshi run up, and as Izuki passes by his teammate, Kiyoshi shifts around Wakamatsu, who immediately calls, "Over here!"

Just as Imayoshi begins to turn towards the trio, Kiyoshi whirls around Wakamatsu's unguarded side, taking the ball with him.

"Fuck!"

The Iron Heart scores a quick layup.

"Was I imagining things?" Aomine calls as Kagami passes by him. "I thought you looked ready to go when you stepped on the court."

"Shut your mouth!" Kagami snaps. "Kiyoshi-senpai just happened to be in a good position."

Imayoshi picks up the ball, tossing it towards Aomine, who's immediately marked by Kagami.

"Don't worry," the Seirin ace says, "I have no intention of running away."

The tension is so thick, Imayoshi's sure that he'd be able to cut it with a knife if he tried. The two aces are like waiting snakes-loose and limber, ready to strike at a moment's notice. Aomine's specialty is change in speed at a moment's notice. Acceleration, more so than speed, is what makes him so strong.

However, Kagami's stance is exactly like Aomine's.

It happens in a blur of motion. Kagami's arm shoots out, fingers just barely grazing the ball. Aomine pulls back immediately, passing the ball around his back and falling into a formless shooting position.

_It's over._

But it isn't.

Imayoshi can only watch with wide open eyes (not even he could've predicted this) as Kagami whirls around, jumping up so high and fast, he reaches Aomine's apex at the same time that Aomine does. Kagami's arm comes over Aomine's head, his hand slamming the ball out of Aomine's grip, the intention practically _oozing_ off of him.

The ball bounces out-of-bounds, and the whistle sounds.

_Is this...his true strength?_

"Good." Aomine's slow drawl says that it's anything _but_ that. "You're _finally_ bringing the heat." He turns, a condescending smirk pulling at his lips. "Honestly, I didn't expect much out of you, but you've improved considerably. I just might...be able to play a little harder this time." His eyes widen slightly, and a shiver runs through Imayoshi's body (something that he isn't ashamed to admit because _damn that is a terrifying look on the ace's face_ ).

Imayoshi throws the ball in, and Aomine grabs hold of it. As the two aces face off again, the bouncing of the ball seems like a foreshadowing of something to come. "Entertain me, Kagami!"

Aomine surges forward all at once, and when Kagami moves to his right to block him, Aomine easily whirls around him, his speed having been upped considerably compared to before. Kagami shift his weight, rushing forward to block Aomine, who forces a high bounce in between Kagami's legs. The ball soars up, directly, towards the net.

"An alley-oop assist for Wakamatsu!"

"All right! Leave it to me!" Wakamatsu roars, leaping up with his arm out, and Imayoshi can only sigh at his idiocy, wondering, not for the first time, if it really would be a smart idea to leave the basketball club in his hands once Imayoshi graduates.

Aomine seems to be on the same page. "What are you jumping to conclusions for? Of course it isn't!"

Before Kagami can even comprehend what's going on, Aomine bursts past him, swatting the ball out from in between Wakamatsu and Kiyoshi's hands before making a basket behind his back.

"What was that?"

"A behind the back shot?"

"He wasn't even looking at the basket!"

"There's no damn way to get you, Aomine!" Wakamatsu shouts after Aomine.

"Just don't interfere with my play. Clear the floor when I get the ball."

"What did you just say?"

"I finally have a _real_ opponent." Aomine's smirk is near feral as he speeds up just slightly. "So stay out of my way."

And not for the first time, Imayoshi wonders why Kuroko Tetsuya had to recommend Aomine Daiki, of all people to join Touou.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Did you miss the official sounding bullshit? I sure did.


	16. Sixteenth: Animals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Generation of Miracles bashing because Aomine is a horrible person.
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Takao Kazunari can't say without lying that he's completely unaffected by the (absolutely terrifying) look that Aomine Daiki is currently sporting.

Sure, it's scary and all, but the main thing he's currently concerned with is the fact that this _idiot_ of a Miracle basically _broke_ Tetsu-chan.

Intentionally.

That's something that the raven can never forgive.

If Shin-chan notices the way that Takao's clenched fists tremble on his thighs and the hateful glare that he levels on the back of Aomine's stupidly muscled back, the green-haired carrot doesn't mention it.

The game starts anew, and true to the implications of his words, Aomine is on Kagami the moment the ball is in play and in the latter's possession. Takao's Hawk Eye allows him to easily catch sight of the little guy who had replaced Tetsu-chan earlier in the quarter, Seirin's number six, coming up behind Aomine with his arms crossed in a large "X" over his chest. It's obvious what the intention is, though the execution...

Completely ineffective at best.

Kagami attempts to make use of his teammate's shoddy screen, dribbling sharply to the right in an attempt to force Aomine to run directly into the blockage. Aomine doesn't even hesitate as he whirls around Seirin's number six to catch up to Kagami. In a single smooth move, Kagami pulls back, putting poor kitten-like number six in the middle of two wolves as the red-haired basketball idiot jumps up to make a shot. From where Takao is sitting, his sharper than average eyes can just make out the slight widening of Aomine's eyes before the tanned town follows Seirin's ace up into the air, hand reaching for the ball, but his fingers are just a breath shy of the underside of the ball. As a result, it sinks neatly into the basket, an improvement for Kagami-after all, the red-haired basketball idiot used to only know how to _dunk_.

As the teams jog back into position, number six pulling up next to Kagami with a sheepish look on his face, probably a result of having been stuck in between Kagami and Aomine without any plausible rhyme or reason, Takao's eyes wander back down to Tetsu-chan's bench, where said girl still sits, though her head has lifted somewhat from the last time he checked her-probably watching her light.

If there's one person he'd never be able to see as sad or just feeling _down_ (or anything, really) in general, it would be Kruoko Tetsuya-not because she's ridiculously happy and bright to an annoying extent, but more because he's just not used to seeing her as anything beyond the immovable anchor that she had been, and still is, especially considering the fact that she truly had no obligation to do so, no matter what shit she may spout about being some sort of selfish bastard for making sure that Takao doesn't land himself in the hospital due to knives or the morgue due to pills.

So there's absolutely no way that he could ever forgive someone who makes her entire body wilt like a flower neglected of water, much less the bastard who had made sure to drag her heart and mental state through the dirt just a year ago.

The next few seconds are a high-paced battle between the two aces, a flurry of arms and legs and torsos traveling down the court, the ball nothing more than an orange blur in Aomine's hands.

This always happens in battle between members of the Generation of Miracles, but to think that this is happening with Kagami...then again, what should Takao have expected? For all the doubting that it seems that her ex-teammates are doing (including Shin-chan, who has at least _somewhat_ changed his opinion after playing Seirin twice), Takao trusts in Tetsu-chan's perception and uncannily accurate instinct. She chose Kagami for a reason. Aomine, at least, out of all of them, should understand that, but from the way the two interacted on court, it seems like he's the one most opposed to Kagami as her light.

"This balance will collapse soon, though." Takao tears his eyes away from the fierce battle of aces on court to glance at Shin-chan, who doesn't return the sentiment. "They're both going all out, but they haven't reached one hundred percent yet."

"One hundred percent?" Takao echoes, confused, but doesn't get his answer straight away, because just as he utters the words, the crowd bursts into loud cheering as Aomine jumps up, back bowing backwards to a rather disturbing degree. The ball leaves his fingers, continuing a trajectory that's aiming directly for the basket, Kagami's wild arms seemingly unable to stop it.

"There it is again!"

"His Formless Shot!"

Takao leans forward as Kagami's arm tenses, and in a single move, slams the ball out of the air. The ball bounces out-of-bounds, leaving the Touou players in stunned silence, though they don't seem to be the only ones. When Takao glances towards Shin-chan again, the carrot's eyes are wide behind his glasses, mouth open just the slightest. He obviously hadn't expected that (though to be fair, neither had Takao-the raven just happens to be in the mindset of not hating Kagami Taiga for no reason whatsoever) to happen.

Takao's ears aren't the sharpest, not like Tetsu-chan's. While that girl probably would've been able to hear the words of the two teens down on court, he has to resort to lipreading (which, luckily, he happens to be pretty good at-as to why, though, that's a secret that he'll be taking to the grave).

"I don't mind entertaining you," Kagami mouths, staring down Aomine, whose expression Takao can't see since the back of his head is currently facing the section of the stands that Takao is sitting in, "if you can afford to take it that easy."

Once again, it's another high-paced battle between the two, with Aomine in possession of the ball. The two stand in a deadlock along the edge of the three-pointer line, one unable to force his way through, the other one unable to force his opponent back. Aomine shoots his arm up, looking as if he's going to shoot, and Kagami immediately reacts reaching up to block the ball, which Aomine immediately grabs the moment Kagami is off-balance, pulling back and driving right past Kagami, who's still in the air, unable to react.

Or at least, he shouldn't be able to. With an unbelievable burst of speed, Kagami chases after Aomine the moment he lands on the ground, overtaking him in a matter of seconds and blocking his path to the basket.

"I don't know where he learned that," Takao hears Coach Nakatani remark from down the row, next to the weird man in the red-collared white suit who apparently knew Coach very well.

"Yeah, we struggled a lot with guys like him back when we were still playing," the weird man says, and even though Takao wants to hear more, neither of the two elaborate any further.

The game continues, and Kagami is a complete basketball fiend. His jumping has improved-everything about it, from the way he uses he legs to the amount of power he puts into the instantaneous push to the height that he reaches to the aerodynamics that he somehow manages to pull off. It's a far cry from what Takao had seen during the spontaneous joint training camp that Shutoku and Seirin had before Winter Cup.

The last five seconds of the second quarter are counting down, and Kagami passes the rebound he had snatched from Touou's number six-the one with light blonde, almost white, hair and extremely loud voice-to Izuki, who immediately starts dribbling it down court, tailed by teammates and opponents alike. Seirin's point guard passes the ball back to Kagami, who's immediately marked by Aomine.

The red-haired basketball idiot, without any sort of preparation or prior warning, jumps up, hand out with the basketball clutched in his fingers, and Aomine snarls. Even if he's facing away from Takao, the raven can hear him loud and clear as he snarls, "Don't mess with me! You're not even close to ready for that!"

He leaps up, arm reaching out, just as Kagami releases the ball. In a streak, the ball soars towards the basket, rolling around the rim for several tense seconds before flying off, back towards Kagami, never once touching the net.

Belatedly, Takao's mind registers what he had just seen-Aomine's fingers just barely grazing the surface of the basketball, but enough to disrupt its path and cause Seirin to lose its chance at tying the score.

The first half ends 46-48, Touou in the lead.

_"We will now be taking a break. The third quarter will begin in ten minutes."_

As the two teams leave, the audience mirroring those in court as people file out of the stuffy gym to get some air or go to the bathroom or buy some snacks, all while chattering about the exciting moments, Takao catches sight of Aomine walking away from his teammates, flippantly dismissing number six when the blonde seemingly demands where the ace is going. A slight frown tugs at the corners of his lips, but right now, he has more pressing concerns.

Such as a certain light blue-haired girl, who, if he knows anything about her, is more than likely to be outside right now, all alone.

* * *

He was right.

Tetsu-chan is leaning against a railing at the South Entrance. She chose a relatively secluded spot, and though Takao can still see a few people loitering about, none of them are close enough to hear them.

_Well, except for one idiot who doesn't know what the word "discreet" means._

Takao's sure that Tetsu-chan knows that Kagami is hiding around the corner of the building, watching them, but since she turns around and smiles when she hears his approach, he's going to take it as a sign to let her light listen in on their conversation.

"If you don't put on a jacket, you'll catch a cold," Takao remarks, glancing at her bare arms, exposed due to her jersey. She must've left her team jacket in her locker room, or on the bench, since it's nowhere in sight. She merely nods in response, acknowledging his concern before turning around again to stare at the horizon again.

"Do you not have a match yet?" she asks, and Takao knows it's more for polite courtesy than anything else because Tetsu-chan probably has a better idea of how Takao's team is doing than Takao himself, and he makes the fact that he's aware of that fact quite clear.

"You already know the answer to that," he replies in deadpan, walking up to line against the railing right next to her. Now he can understand why she came here-a light breeze ruffles against his face, such a stark contrast to the heavy air in the gym. She must've wanted to get away from it all for as long as possible. "What were you thinking?"

"Hmm?"

"Just now. It doesn't really look like you need any cheering up, and even though I'm sure that you enjoy it, you didn't just come out here for some air."

He glances towards her, but she keeps her eyes locked on the horizon. Takao has noticed before, the fact that Tetsu-chan is undeniably _pretty_. Not in a striking way, the way that supermodels and famous singers and actresses are. No, Tetsu-chan's beauty is in the plain simplicity of her features-her unassuming blank blue eyes, the smooth, supple lines of a body that don't particularly scream "athlete," the softness of her pale skin, and so on so forth. She isn't hot or sexy or exceptionally _beautiful_ , but she's pretty.

When her face is awash with the golden light of the sun, and her profile reveals the sharp clarity of her eyes, the sentiment strikes deeper than it usually does.

"I wasn't thinking about anything complicated," she finally answers, after having contemplated the best way to phrase the thoughts that are most likely wildly spinning throughout her mind, tearing through set barriers and boundaries that never seem so set when concerned with her teammates- _especially_ her old ones. "I'd do anything to win this game. I do have my promise to Satsuki-chan, but truth be told, I just want to see it again."

There's no doubt in Takao's mind what Tetsu-chan is talking about, and to be honest, it pisses him off. A shitty bastard like Aomine Daiki doesn't deserve the faith and loyalty that she has in him. The entire Generation of Miracles doesn't _deserve_ Kuroko Tetsuya, who's only fault is in caring too much under her blank exterior.

_Then again, maybe that's his bias talking._

"Aomine-kun always used to play with a smile." Only due to the fact that Takao has known Tetsu-chan for quite some time and on quite an intimate level is the raven able to detect the wistful note in her voice. "He truly loved basketball. I don't intend to reject who he is now and look down on him. I just want to see Aomine-kun playing with a smile again. If Seirin wins this game...then maybe..."

Takao doesn't like the way her voice trails off at the end. He doesn't like what she's doing to herself. He certainly doesn't like the way she finally looks at him, but only to send him a warning look without ever once shifting her facial muscles. "People aren't that simple, Tetsu-chan. You of all people should know that."

"I do," she affirms softly, gazing back out at the horizon again. "But who knows? There is a possibility that winning won't change Aomine-kun. But losing definitely won't change anything."

"I guess that just means that all you can do is play as hard as you can to win!" Takao exclaims, bright grin slipping back into place.

The atmosphere suddenly grows lighter as a small smile plays about Tetsu-chan's lips. "I suppose so."

"By the way, what have you been doing lately, Tetsu-chan? We usually find some time to hang out over the weekends, or after practice, but you've been busy, and I'm pretty sure that it's not just because of practice."

"Oh," Tetsu-chan states, blinking as if the two's lack of communication for the past few weeks has just occurred to her. "I'm sorry."

"What?" Takao exclaims, gaping at her. "You just realized?"

"I've found a new friend."

"Really?" Takao grins, lightly nudging her shoulder with his elbow. "Boy or girl?"

"Girl."

Takao snorts, leaning forward. "Maa, I guess hanging out with boys all the time probably leaves you starved for female company, huh?"

"She acts more like a boy than a girl, to be perfectly honest." Though she says that, her tone is fond, and Takao is happy for her.

"Well, is she sexy?"

"Takao!"

"What, I'm a teenage boy!"

"...she _is_ very pretty."

"Do you have a picture?"

"Even if I did, I wouldn't let you see it."

"So, no picture?"

"Maybe I'll introduce you guys later."

"Score!"

"I won't if you keep that up."

"Tet-su-chan!"

"See you later, Takao."

The raven can only smile fondly as she leaves, her back straight, all the uncertainty from earlier gone from her silhouette. As she passes by Kagami's hiding spot, she pauses for a moment, probably to warn him about spying on others. He quickly jumps out from around the building, face as red as his hair, profuse apologies spilling from his lips as he follows after Tetsu-chan the way a puppy does its wronged master.

It looks like she's going to be all right now.

* * *

Shin-chan shoots him a suspicious look when he just barely manages to sink into his seat before the start of the third quarter, but fortunately, the carrot doesn't question him.

Takao's not in the mood for answering Shin-chan's prying questions.

It looks like Takao isn't the only one late to the party. The break is almost at an end when Aomine finally appears on court, his prowling gait and the dark aura surrounding him sending shivers down Takao's spine.

The starters of the third quarter move on court, intense looks of concentration on their faces. However, Seirin's number six isn't the one who steps past the side line.

Tetsu-chan's eyes are locked on Aomine's form, the determined set of her jaw speaking worlds of her intentions as she adjusts the band on her left wrist (which only begs the question, because Takao's sure that he's not the only one who has noticed-why does Tetsu-chan have a wristband on her left arm if she doesn't even _use_ her left hand?).

"Should she even be on court now?" Takao reads Touou's number six's lips as he observes Tetsu-chan. "I'm impressed to see her back on her feet after she got destroyed by Aomine, but what can she do now?"

Imayoshi Shouichi starts off with the ball, immediately marked by Izuki, whose eyes seem to be boring into Iamyoshi's soul. The Touou captain doesn't seem to be affected, though, when he passes it without looking away from Izuki to Aomine on the side being guarded by Kagami.

Aomine grabs hold of the ball, and, in a burst of speed, shoots past Kagami. Takao's eyes widen just slightly as after images seem to flicker to life behind Aomine's wake.

"He's getting faster..." he breathes, not particularly expecting a response from anyone, but Shin-chan does.

"He's getting closer to one hundred percent."

Kiyoshi struggles, clearly trying to rush in front of Aomine to block his path to the goal, but there's no use-it's obvious that he won't be in time.

However, while others' eyes are focused on Aomine, Takao sees something much, much more interesting. A flicker of light blue hair darts in front of Aomine, and suddenly, the tanned teen is slamming into Tetsu-chan, who lands jarringly on the floor, back against the ground.

(Something even more interesting though: the pure look of utter devastation, shock, and guilt on Aomine's face before the emotions are all wiped away when the referee blows his whistle.)

_"Charging! Black number five!"_

"Kuroko..." Shin-chan says from beside Takao, and when the raven glances over, he's treated with the sight of the shooting guard looking, for once, completely and utterly shocked. "There's no possible way that she could've reacted in time."

"Obviously, she didn't _react_ ," Takao snorts, ignoring the way Shin-chan's head whips towards his direction. "Shouldn't you know this, Shin-chan? Considering that you were her _teammate_?"

At least the bastard has the decency to look somewhat abashed.

Down on court, Tetsu-chan slowly pushes herself up, bracing her right hand against the floor as she stares up at Aomine, who's stony face looks completely unimpressed-most likely a reaction to the speech that she's probably giving (when it comes to the Generation of Miracles, it seems to take a lot for Tetsu-chan to shut up). A moment later, his lips turn up, but it's not really a smile.

Not when those eyes are burning holes into Tetsu-chan's forehead. "You've done it now, Tetsu."

Kagami pushes past Aomine, bending slightly to offer his hand to his fallen shadow. "Sorry. You saved my ass."

Tetsu-chan accepts the offer, letting her light pull her up. Kagami's head turns slightly, and Takao can no longer see his face, though he gets the idea that he's watching Aomine's retreating back.

Izuki has the ball. "All right then, let's go!"

Touou's number seven is extremely inexperienced when it comes to dealing with Tetsu-chan, because she easily slips past his guard and catches the ball that Izuki passes in some arbitrary direction. She only holds on for a second before passing over to Kagami, clearly taking some Touou members by surprise. Kagami bounce passes it to Kiyoshi, who's guard looks slightly distracted from whatever shock he had earlier. He throws it forward, and Tetsu-chan immediately punches the ball forward in a surprise Ignite Pass. Hyuuga catches it, and the Seirin captain let out a loud, "OW!", before making a quick basket. His mark, the little mushroomy guy, doesn't even have the chance to react.

"Hell yeah!"

"He made the three-pointer!"

It looks like they've improved. From what Takao knows from watching Seirin's matches, playing against Seirin, and talking with Tetsu-chan (who never reveals more than what she already knows that he knows), Kagami and sometimes Kiyoshi were the only two who were able to catch an Ignite Pass. Now, despite the fact that Hyuuga's hand looks like a big red fly swatter, it seems that everybody on Seirin will be able to catch at least an ordinary Ignite Pass.

"All right, defense! Let's stop them!"

"Yeah!"

And with Tetsu-chan's reentrance into the game, Seirin has gotten back up on its feet.

"It looks like Seirin's finally making their comeback," Takao remarks, glancing over at the scoreboard.

Less than a minute into the third quarter and the score is already 49-46 in Seirin's favor.

"Seirin's a completely different team when she's on court," Takao continues, this time glancing at Shin-chan, who doesn't seem to have understood the underlying message. "Even though she's already been crushed in both mind and spirit. She's still sacrificing herself for the team."

"Admirable," Shin-chan replies dryly, though Takao's sure that he heard a bit of genuine, though grudging, respect in that voice. "Even so, just giving it your all doesn't guarantee victory. It's not that easy."

Imayoshi slowly bounces the ball before raising the ball. Izuki jumps, falling for the feint, and Imayoshi passes the ball through the throng of players. It's immediately picked up by Touou's number six, who makes a quick layup.

"They scored already!"

"That's the best offensive team in the league for you!"

Within seconds, Touou has regained the lead.

Izuki dribbles down court, coming to a halt when his eyes catch on something that is, admittedly, a cause for alarm (the rest of Seirin definitely seem to agree, if the wide eyes, shocked gasp, and gaping mouths are anything to go by).

Imayoshi's marking Tetsu-chan.

Takao doesn't know much about Imayoshi. Only that he's apparently a genius sadist who has some sort of god complex-which, when Takao really thinks about, happens to sum up a good quarter of the high school basketball quarter in just a few words. What he can tell, right now, is that Tetsu-chan is being completely shut down. Every move she makes in immediately mirrored by Imayoshi, who's sporting quite the shit-eating grin. The fact that she's breathing heavily and drenched in sweat doesn't make things look any brighter for Seirin.

He's sure that there's something going on, something that he, or the general onlooker, can't seem to grasp. Sure, he's played against Tetsu-chan before, he's faced her misdirection. However, if there's one thing that he will most likely forever be confused about when it comes to her is how her misdirection works. Sure, he understands the basis of the card trick, but how she utilizes it in a match, how she made an effective weapon out of a parlor trick...he might never know.

However, it seems like Touou has cracked the code.

Izuki throws a pass towards Tetsu-chan, but before she can even touch it, Imayoshi intercepts, dribbling the ball down to the opposite side of the court, quickly tailed by Izuki.

Imayoshi leaps up and sinks a quick three. The expression on his face is...rather ugly, to say the least. Takao gets the feeling that he already doesn't particularly like Imayoshi-then again, he might not have from the beginning anyways.

Izuki takes the ball, passing it with a brief shout of, "Hyuuga!"

The Seirin captain slides backwards, probably going for the Barrier Jumper that had been so effective previously, but Sakurai immediately follows, not letting up a single inch. They've probably figured out most of Seirin's tricks.

If Seirin doesn't pull something out of their asses soon, Touou will most likely win this match.

Hyuuga passes the ball around Sakurai, straight towards Kyioshi, who quickly pulls back with the ball in his hands as Touou's number six rushes up to guard him. Kiyoshi passes to Kagami, who's immediately faced off with Aomine.

Tetsu-chan moves towards the pair, but is immediately blocked by Imayoshi. It looks like everyone on Seirin has been backed into a corner. Kagami, having most likely come to the same conclusion, moves as if he's about to push forward, but suddenly stops (in fact, if Takao hadn't been looking for any signs of hesitation, he probably wouldn't have been able to see it). He's probably attempting the mind game he had played earlier, but right now...

Aomine slams the ball out of Kagami's grip, taking possession and racing down court towards the basket. Hyuuga cuts in from the side, but is promptly passed with a simple deceleration/acceleration trick. The slight blockage bought enough time for Kagami to race across the court, however, and now the two are facing off just inches away from the basket.

Aomine leaps up, ball in hand, quickly followed by Kagami with a loud roar. Just when it seems like Kagami may be able to block the tanned teen, he pulls his arm in and whirls in the air, around Kagami, and dunks.

_Impossible._

"What was that?"

"He's not human!"

"I thought he was doing his best from the first quarter," Takao murmurs, suddenly having an inkling as to what Shin-chan means exaclty by saying "one hundred percent."

"It's simple."

"What?"

Shin-chan's eyes are narrowed as he stares down at court. "Kagami most likely awoke what you'd call 'animal instinct.' However...Kagami isn't the only one. That's all."

"That isn't all!"

"It seems that Aomine's instincts had dulled since he hadn't been playing seriously as often, but he must be gradually 'relearning,' so to speak, them through his battles with Kagami."

Touou scores point after point. Three minutes left in the third quarter, and the score is 56-70 in Touou's favor. The gap is growing, and Seirin's chances at a comeback are slowly slipping away with each second that ticks down.

It's not impossible, but...

Imayoshi is no longer marking Tetsu-chan. Touou's number seven, the one who had been marking Tetsu-chan in the beginning of the game, is guarding her. After all, there's no need for Iamyoshi to be on her back anymore.

Her misdirection has run out completely.

And for once, Takao doesn't know whether Seirin can climb out of this hole that they've been dropped into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko Tetsuya: 11  
> Kagami Taiga: 10  
> Kiyoshi Teppei: 7  
> Hyuuga Junpei: 4  
> Izuki Shun: 5  
> Koganei Shinji: 6
> 
> Aomine Daiki: 5  
> Imayoshi Shouichi: 4  
> Susa Yoshinori: 7  
> Sakurai Ryou: 9  
> Wakamatsu Kousuke: 6


	17. Seventeenth: Extremities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko has the best lines in the anime, really.
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

She knows what they're all thinking.

_It's the end._

_Seirin has no more cards to play._

_Seirin lost._

Lost. _Lost._

When she looks around, all she can see is the gritted teeth of her teammates, flashing white under harsh lights that illuminate their every flaw. What they did wrong, what they should've done.

 _What_ she _should've done._

And standing where she is, unable to drag her eyes away from the sleek flooring dotted with sweat, she can practically _feel_ Imayoshi-san's _horrid_ smirk as he calls from a position some feet away from her, "It's nothing to be embarrassed about. If anything, you did quite well." Kuroko wonders for a moment how someone could be possibly be so _cruel_. "You made it to the Winter Cup with a time of only first and second years. Things would have gone better if you'd had another year to prepare." He isn't so much complimenting them as he is feeding their insecurities and adding ashes to the fire-smothering them, snuffing them out- _and Kuroko can't stand for that._ "Try again next year."

Next year. As if Seirin can possibly be so flippant about this. Next year, and Kiyoshi-senpai will be _gone_. Next year, and who knows where Kuroko would be-maybe _he_ would've found her by then-well, not maybe, _he_ definitely would've. Next year, and Seirin's first team, Seirin's second team-both would be gone, disintegrated into ashes, and Kuroko wouldn't be able to play with the people who made her remember the beauty of basketball.

Next year is too late.

"We can't wait that long." She can feel their surprised gazes as she speaks up, her words sounding loudly as a lull in the constant buzz of the gymnasium emphasizes her words. "Next time isn't good enough. Not next time." She lifts her head, eyes boring directly into Aomine-kun's. "We're winning _this_ time!"

Imayoshi-san chuckles. "Admirable, very admirable. Your misdirection trump card has run out of steam, too. Spirit alone won't change anything."

"That may be true," Kuroko concedes, glancing towards Izuki-senpai, who nods surreptitiously back at her. "But you act as if misdirection is the only thing I can do."

"What?"

Kuroko can feel golden eyes burning into her as Izuki-senpai passes the ball to her and she closes her eyes.

Echizen Ryoma has no idea just how grateful she is right now.

Kuroko takes a step forward, and she can feel Susa-san and Imayoshi-san both turning towards her at the same time. Before either of them can reach her, she has taken off.

It's something that she's been afraid to use for a long time. Even when she used it in dire situations for Seirin, the underlying fear of what might happen to her and to her opponents was still present. She had never been able to escape its presence...

Until now.

She can see it in her mind, painted stark against the baks of her closed eyelids-a glowing path, mapped in layers and concentrated twists and turns, constructed to weave through the Touou players in such a way as to leave them physically incapable of stopping her.

Her original style, the first one she developed so long ago when she first began playing basketball with Seijūrō, the one that his own Emperor's Eye is based upon, the basketball style that is the reason that the Generation of Miracles acknowledged her as one of their own- _her_ basketball, the one that she has been unable to use ever since she was almost blinded, ever since the psychosomatic wrist sprain in her left arm created a mental block that stopped her from picking up a pencil, much less dribbling a basketball and smacking one around.

And now, it's being unleashed.

She doesn't open her eyes until she's under the basket, and even then, her eyelids only flutter open after she has shoved the ball into Kiyoshi-senpai's large hands and the buzzer sounds, followed by the roar of the crowds.

Behind her, she's left a carpet of fallen players, heads turned towards her, faces and jaws slack with shock. A surge of adrenaline, heady and addicting, rushes through her, pushed onwards by her momentary victory and set determination to let the world know that Kuroko Tetsuya isn't one to be taken lightly.

She clenches her fist, the imprint of the basketball lighter than ever on her palm. "Imayoshi-san, I think that you and your team will soon realize that I don't take well to hasty decisions. If you are set on writing this match off as another win for Touou, I would advise you to prepare yourselves. Seirin will _win_."

And no one can even think of contradicting her words when they're filled with a quite, unshakable confidence and her eyes are glowing with _more_ than they've held in a long while.

* * *

_"Tetsu!"_

_Ryoma-chan lets out a frustrated growl, something rather uncharacteristic of her, but then again, considering the position that the tennis prodigy is currently in, Kuroko can't particularly fault her for that._

_"Zen-chan," Yukimura-san begins, mouth curled into a delicate frown as he lowers his racket. "You shouldn't expect Kuroko-san to be able to play as well as you under these conditions-to begin with, she doesn't even play tennis-"_

_"You think I don't know that?" Ryoma-chan snaps back, annoyance clear in her voice and in her golden eyes. "But we don't have enough time for this!"_

_"These types of things take time and work, Zen-chan, you can't possibly demand so much in such a short period of time!"_

_Kuroko glances down at the racket held in her trembling hands. When Ryoma-chan had first said yips tennis, she hadn't particularly thought much of it. Maybe it would be a sort of rip-off of Seijūrō's Emperor Eye-a sort of trick meant to intimidate and mentally impede._

_She hadn't believed that it would literally be_ yips _._

_Nothing could've possibly prepared her for the first loss-her sense of touch. Having never played tennis before, Kuroko had been doing relatively well, getting the majority of shots into the court. Of course, Yukimura-san had probably been playing at less than a fraction of his usual play, but that was to be expected._

_However, when she suddenly feel_ anything _, she almost had a panic attack right then and there._

_By now, she's gotten relatively used to not being able to feel the solidness of the grip in her hands, despite the fact that she can see it-and that's the problem in and of itself._

_Her eyesight._

_The next thing to go is her eyesight, and the moment she cannot see anything, she's done. It doesn't matter whether the rest of her senses are intact or not-without her eyesight, she's reduced to an absolute mess._

_Ryoma-chan, is obviously more than a little bit frustrated, but Kuroko can't do anything about it. If there's one thing that incident has taught her, it's that she is absolutely terrified of never being able to see ever again. Being constantly stripped of the one thing that she fully depends on-she's helpless._

It only pisses her off.

_Kuroko clenches her fist. The trembling stops. "Can I try one more time?"_

_Ryoma-chan and Yukimura-san both stop arguing, glancing towards her. She isn't quite sure what they see, but a small smile tugs at Ryoma-chan's lips as she gives a curt nod and moves to the side, off court, where Akutsu-san is leaning against a tree, watching in amusement._

_Yukimura-san gets back into position, and Kuroko takes a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth._

_She'll do this a million times and more if it'll help her become stronger._

* * *

Even with the revelation of her old style (well, a new one, in the eyes of most basketball players now), Kuroko knows that it's hardly enough to turn the tides in Seirin's favor. However, it's the beginning.

Imayoshi-san is decidedly shaken as he dribbles the ball down court. His movements are less fluid and languid, more jerky and apprehensive-distracted. He's thinking too much. Hyuuga-senpai seems to recognize this too, leaping forward with a mighty roar and intercepting a sloppy pass from Iamyoshi-san to Sakurai-san, one that Kuroko is ashamed to even call a pass.

The ball flies through the air and lands in her hands, and she can practically feel the tension rise ten notches. They expect her to send them all flying to the dirt. They expect her to trip them up.

They don't expect her to tap pass it back to Hyuuga-senpai, who had taken the time to race down court, falling into the perfect position to catch the pass and make a quick layup without facing a single problem.

Two minutes left of the third quarter, and the score is 62-70 in Touou's favor.

"Please don't forget everything that I can do," Kuroko remarks, glancing towards Imayoshi-san, whose eyes are wide open. "I am still a pass specialist, after all."

"All right! Another basket!"

"But you know, there is still on more thing that you have to watch out for."

Izuki-senpai has the ball in his hands, and even as Kuroko slips behind Susa-san, Imayoshi-san is running up to intercept Izuki-senpai, half paying attention to the ball bouncing in Izuki-senpai's hands, the other half straining to listen to Kuroko.

"You weren't quite right. My misdirection didn't run out. We made it run out."

Kuroko slips past Imayoshi-san, and from one blink of an eye to another, Izuki-senpai disappears in front of their very eyes.

The ball leaves Izuki-senpai's hands, sinking into the basket smoothly.

In normal circumstances, Kuroko would never have done that. Not necessarily Misdirection Overflow, but rather the revelation of two trump cards in a row.

But these aren't normal circumstances, and right now, she _needs_ to present a strong, unshakable front to the Touou members. She needs to pass herself off as a formidable opponent-to Aomine-kun as well, who obviously hadn't expected her to utilize either technique. She needs this element of surprise, she needs them to falter.

Most of all, Seirin needs to realize that it's not the end. That it's not time to give up. That they still have the chance-as long as they try to grab it.

Already, she can see the consequences taking form.

"What just happened?"

"That was Kuroko's Vanishing Drive!"

Kuroko closes her eyes as the game continues. Her body moves on autopilot. Misdirection Overflow is the sort of risky move that she had hoped she would never have to use-after all, it puts her and her basketball into a vulnerable position-the spotlight. Having a natural lack of presence, it takes a lot out of her to grab attention intentionally. Especially to keep their eyes on her instead of wandering towards her teammates, especially the ones holding the ball-she can already feel her muscles trembling as her shoulders rise up and down heavily, in perfect sync with her heavy breathing.

Right now, right here. No matter what, they have to win.

_They don't have any other choice._

The ball bounces around court, floating from hand to hand. Kiyoshi-senpai slams the ball out of Wakamatsu-san's hands, and the ball falls into Izuki-senpai's hands. The point guard immediately passes to Kagami-kun, who races down court. Every single player is sweating heavily. Aomine-kun cuts in from the side, arms out and open, almost as if he's about to give Kagami-kun a hug, but that's not it.

Kuroko grits her teeth before running across Aomine-kun's field of vision, feeling even more strength sap out of her as she furiously chants in her mind, _look at me look at me lookatmelookatmelookatme._

He does, and Kagami-kun drives past him, making a loud dunk.

"Tetsu..." Aomine-kun growls, and Kuroko can feel the hostility packed into those words, and even though she's become a stronger person since middle school, since their last match, even since earlier in the first quarter-despite all that, she can't stop the shiver of fear that works its way down her spine, followed quickly by sadness and an inexplicable determination to show him that he's wrong-that _she's_ wrong for feeling this way about someone who meant so much to her (still means so much to her).

"Even if we're giving up our chances to win against Touou in the future, it's still better than losing here. We'll worry about the future when we get there. We're here. Right now. There's nothing to decide."

One minute left in the game, and the score is 64-70 in Touou's favor. Slowly but surely, Seirin is closing the gap.

"Give me a break," Imayoshi-san laughs, bouncing the basketball as Izuki-senpai marks him. "You're betting way too much on this. Just how far are you going to take this?" It's an admittance to momentary defeat if Kuroko has ever heard one-the fact that this guy, of all people, has resorted to questioning their tactics when normally he would mock them.

The smile on his face reminds her of Yukimura-san, and she finds herself realizing that she's grateful for more than just one thing about Ryoma-san's forced winter break training.

Iamyoshi-san has been dribbling for an awfully long time. Izuki-senpai doesn't seem to want to risk rushing in directly. The Touou captain is biding his time.

Five seconds left in the third quarter.

Imayoshi-san shifts, but instead of passing or driving past Izuki-senpai, he falls into a form that's immediately recognized by any basketball player.

_Four._

Imayoshi-san leaps up, right arm supporting the ball in a textbook shooting position. Izuki-senpai is unable to react in time.

_Three._

The ball is released and soars in a beautiful arc over the heads of the players-none of them can do anything to stop it.

_Two._

If there's one thing that Kuroko Tetsuya knows about Imayoshi Shouichi, it's that he loves to dot he opposite of what people want.

_One._

The ball sinks directly into the basket, not even touching the rim. Hyuuga-senpai makes a choked sort of sound at the back of his throat, and Kuroko's sure that Sakurai-san is pouting once more.

_Zero._

The buzzer sounds, and Seirin is left standing shell-shocked on court as Touou walks off the court. Imayoshi-san spares a single glance backward, in which his eyes are slits that strike abject terror into their heart.

* * *

Kuroko collapses gracelessly onto the bench. Now that she's no longer playing, no longer pumping adrenaline and endorphins and whatever other chemicals that kept her on her feet for so long, she can feel the results of her hard work weighing down her limbs. Even though she's sitting, her breaths come hard and fast in sharp pants.

_She truly can't keep this up for long._

"Sorry, but could you re-tape my legs?" Kuroko vaguely hears Kiyoshi-senpai ask from his position a few seats down. He sounds utterly exhausted-then again, they _all_ are.

"Sure!"

This is bad. Touou isn't a team that crumbles easily under pressure. Much like Seirin, they will continue to rise and fight until the end-whether they end up crying from joy or sadness. Meanwhile, Kuroko is quickly running out of steam. She's practically running on fumes right now. Only sheer determination and an absolute need to prove both herself and Seirin are keeping her conscious right now. Kiyoshi-senpai's knee has the potential to collapse at any moment. He shouldn't even be playing right now-he should be going through surgery to make sure that his injury won't get even worse.

And worst of all, Aomine-kun has yet to reach one hundred percent. That is what she dreads most of all, because in the state that Seirin is in right now, an Aomine Daiki at one hundred percent would absolutely _crush_ them.

"You're thinking too hard, idiot," Hyuuga-senpai drawls as he pours a stream of water down his throat. Kuroko gets the feeling that he's not just talking to Kiyoshi-senpai. "That's not a good habit. You should have more faith in us." Kuroko glances at her captain out of the corner of her eye. His slightly whimsical tone, in contrast to the heavy mood and the current situation, is oddly reassuring. "This team is strong. _You_ made this team."

Nothing else needs to be said.

(Kuroko can't be the only one who notices that these two aren't _that_ horrible at communicating.)

The buzzer sounds. It's the end of break. The fourth quarter is about to begin.

"Win or lose, these are the last ten minute. Let's win!"

_She has really, really missed this._

"Yeah!"

Aomine-kun hasn't gotten up from his seat on Touou's bench. A towel covers his head, and he's slightly bowed over his knees-not in defeat, she knows him too well to possibly mistake that. No, he's focusing. To the point that nothing is reaching him. She knows what he's doing, and all she can do is hope.

Hope that Seirin is ready.

The game starts off well. Izuki-senpai passes the ball to Hyuuga-senpai, who slides back into a Barrier Jumper. Sakurai-san would've been able to block it had Kuroko not misdirected his attention towards her once again. The shot goes into the basket beautifully, and the score is 67-73 in Touou's favor.

Right now, the best thing to do right now is to make sure that they score as many points as possible.

Imayoshi-san laughs, and Kuroko is starting to realize that it's a sort of defense mechanism-but just as much as it is for defense, it's for offense.

_Right now, his laughter is for the latter._

"I wouldn't expect any less," the Touou captain remarks, and another chill runs down Kuroko's spine.

_It's coming._

Aomine-kun has the ball, and Kuroko curses herself for letting him touch it. (Then again, it's not like she could've possibly kept it from him.)

Then she catches sight of something on his face, and it's all right. It's all right because he's _smiling._

(It looks more like a smirk, but less of a sneer, so it's a start.)

_It's slight, but enough of a difference for even Kagami-kun to notice. He's returned to his former self._

And even though it means that the rest of the game will be absolute hell for Seirin, Kuroko is glad.

* * *

Aomine-kun scores again for Touou. 67-75 in Touou's favor.

"Don't worry about it," Hyuuga-senpai states as he claps Kagami-kun on his shoulder. "Let's shift gears."

"But-"

"You've been able to stay on that monster as much as you have because of who you are. They can't stop you, either. We'll take three points at a time."

Kuroko had never really realized, but Hyuuga-senpai's threes are as beautiful as Midorima-kun's. Not in the strength of the shot or the distance that the ball covers. Rather in the silent message he conveys with every basket.

_I'm shooting because it's okay even if I do!_

Sakurai-san obviously feels the pressure. The little shooting guard leaps up, but Kuroko can see that his form is off, everything is off. The shot won't go in.

It doesn't need to.

Aomine-kun sprints up in front of Sakurai-san. "Getting all flustered because they managed to close the gap by a few points...give me the ball!"

Sakurai-san immeidately complies, and the ball is thrown in between Hyuuga-senpai's raised arms towards Aomine-kun.

Kagami-kun quickly follows. "No, you don't!"

Aomine-kun, who had been heading towards the side of the court, suddenly shifts around, easily bypassing Kagami-kun whose eyes widen slightly. Kiyoshi-senpai leaps up to block when Aomine-kun makes a quick motion, but realizes once it's too late that Aomine-kun had been faking. Seconds later, Aomine-kun leaps up, the two basketball players slamming into each other as a result of the delayed timing. Even as they begin to fall towards the ground and the referee blows the whistle, Aomine-kun tosses the ball up with one hand.

It falls into the basket.

_"Pushing, white number seven! Basket counts! One throw!"_

Aomine-kun stands at the free throw line, lightly bouncing the ball.

"Touou emphasizes individual skill," Imayoshi-san remarks, even as Aomine-kun catches the ball in between his hands, eyes locked ont the basket, "but we believe in something, too. It's Aomine's strength."

The ball leaves Aomine-kun's fingertips, and the ball sinks into the basket, never once touching the rim.

One minute into the fourth quarter, and the score is 70-78 in Touou's favor.

Kuroko takes a few deep breaths, attempting to conserve as much energy as possible before the next play. However, there's still something... "Kagami-kun, Kiyoshi-senpai."

The two in question turn to face her, eyebrows raised in question.

"Do you have a minute?"

The game continues onwards, a sort of tug-of-war in between the two teams. If Seirin scores a point, Touou quickly follows, and vice versa. They remain relatively stagnant, and by now, Kuroko has almost completely stopped utilizing her Misdirection Overflow.

Four minute into the game, it's 78-86 in Touou's favor, and Aomine-kun has the ball.

_This is what they've been waiting for._

Kuroko notes the exact moment that Aomine-kun's eyes widen at the sight of her, Kagami-kun and Kiyoshi-senpai triple-teaming him.

Just as he knows Kuroko's basketball (both styles) like the back of his hand, she knows his. He isn't just terrifying because of his speed or skill. Rather, it's his overwhelming shooting power that allows him to make shots from any position. He is the Akutsu Jin of basketball. Even though Seirin's offensive power has increased, the gap will never be closed in a shootout.

If Aomine-kun isn't stopped, Seirin has no chance of winning.

"I'm flattered, Tetsu," Aomine-kun croons, muscles tightening as he readies himself, "but that's not going to be enough."

In a burst of speed, he pushes past Kagami-kun. Kuroko doesn't even attempt to truly block him. _After all, that wasn't her intention in the first place._ He must notice, but if he did, he doesn't show it, instead pushing forwards. Even as Kiyoshi-senpai jumps up with a perfectly placed block, Aomine-kun pulls the same stunt he did with Kagami-kun, almost flying around Kiyoshi-senpai to shoot sideways.

_I'll stop Aomine-kun._

It's something that she has to do, something that she promised to do. She _has_ to do it.

_Kagami-kun, you have to let him pass you first._

Kagami-kun circles around, jumping up behind Aomine-kun, an overbearing presence pushing in from the side, pressuring him.

Aomine-kun yanks the ball down, ducking under the two pairs of arms. He has a clear path to the basket, and he uses it.

_Just as expected._

The basketball bounces off the rim.

It only takes a second for him to realize.

Slowly, almost mechanically, Aomine-kun's head turns towards Kuroko, who stands on the opposite side of her teammates, staring up at him. "Tetsu...you _bastard._ "

"I can't stop you," she remarks with a calm she does not feel, not when Aomine-kun's eyes are staring down at her like that, "but Seirin will _not_ lose."

Aomine-kun snorts, and it takes everything in Kuroko not to shudder at the arctic coldness in his eyes. "You've really done it now, Tetsu."

Seirin pushes in, not letting up any ground. Kuroko's never been one for strategies and formations-she works with her innate tactical ability on the fly. The Generation of Miracles never really had much need for set tactics-those are far too predictable, far too easily broken once the basis and schematics are known. However, that doesn't meant that Seirin can't make use of them.

Kuroko pushes against Susa-san in the zone press formation. The pressure and tension are rising. Wakamatsu-san passes the ball towards Susa-san, and Kuroko easily intercepts, tossing it behind her back towards Hyuuga-senpai, who catches it and falls into formation.

Sakurai-san, in a zealous attempt, slams directly into Hyuuga-senpai's right side. The whistle blows.

_"Pushing, black number nine! Three balls*!"_

"Hey, Ryo." Kuroko glances towards the rough voice. Aomine-kun practically towers over the timid boy, who only seems to shrink under the intimidating presence of his teammate.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"Good timing." Kuroko blinks slightly in surprise. "Switch to rebounding after this."

She hadn't expected that.

And she _really_ hadn't expected him to hang back as the two teams gather for the free throw. His eyes are shadowed, and his shoulders are rising and falling in a steady rhythm.

_This doesn't bode well._

A slow smile spreads across his face, and Kuroko's eyes widen as his voice sounds in the quietness between them. "Thank you, Tetsu."

All three of Hyuuga-senpai's baskets have made it in, and the score is 83-86 in Touou's favor with a little more than five minutes left in the game.

Without words, Aomine-kun holds out his hands, every single step he takes sending shivers down Kuroko's spine (this is the only day, the only match, in which she has ever felt so afraid). Imayoshi-san doesn't hesitate to send the ball spinning into the ace's chest.

Kagami-kun comes up behind Aominep-kun to guard him, but it makes no difference. He's passed int he blink of an eye. Barely a second has passed, and Aomine-kun has made a layup, not even giving Seirin a chance to breathe.

"That's impossible."

"Is he in..."

"...the Zone?"

* * *

_The Zone._

_In this state of extreme focus, all unnecessary thoughts disappear and the athlete becomes absorbed in his play. Only those who have practiced and practiced earn the right to stand before the door, and it only opens unpredictably._

_It is the ultimate domain, open only to the chosen._

_However, Aomine's senses almost mockingly force the door open on their own._

* * *

_She knew it. She knew it. She knew it._

And there's nothing she can do about it.

A crackle of blue electrifies the stadium.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I think we've already established that my knowledge on basketball terminology is rather lacking
> 
> If you guys didn't notice, I tweaked the scores a little bit in the middle in order for Kiyoshi's extra shot using Kuroko's revealed move could fit in.


	18. Eighteenth: Eventualities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And finally the end of the way too long Seirin-Touou game. Look forward to funner chapters later on.
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Kagami doesn't particularly know what to expect anymore, and when Aomine tears through his defenses the way a knife does butter, Kagami takes it into stride as much as possible. Really, he should be used to the Generation of Miracles and their weird twists and antics.

Seirin's plays fall apart. Aomine easily steals passes in between Kagami's teammates, his speed rendering the rest of the basketball players on court completely useless.

Kagami grits his teeth as he and Izuki-senpai attempt to block Aomine. In comparison to the rapid movements of the ace, Kagami feels as if he's moving in molasses. Aomine slips in between the gap left between the two Seirin players and scores a dunk off the side of the rim.

There's no point in even _trying_ to stop Aomine.

Five minutes left of the fourth quarter, and the score is 83-90 in Touou's favor. Even though Kagami doesn't want to think of the possibilities, he does, because those possibilities are very close to becoming reality.

 _We could_ lose. _Again._

"Don't give up! We still have five minutes! We'll hang on, even if it kills us!"

Hyuuga-senpai's voice is loud and full of desperation-fueled determination as he bellows the bolstering words at his team.

It works-Kyioshi-senpai scores a layup next, taking back the points that Aomine had just stolen.

 _That's right. We won't give up. We_ can't _give up._

As if reading his mind, Aomine laughs, drawing Kagami's attention. The tanned teen is holding the basketball in his hands, and Kagami almost swears from frustration even as his muscles tense to ready himself for a futile block. "Good. That's how it's supposed to be!"

The ball leaves Aomine's hands in a flash of blue, Kagami's hands just shy of brushing its surface. The ball slams into the net, all brute force and no finesse, but it still goes in, and that's all that really counts right now, in these final five minutes.

Tetsuya is exhausted. It's a miracle that she's even standing right now. The rapid rising and falling of her chest is a cause for concern among Seirin, who all know that they _shouldn't_ be able to see any sign of fatigue, and the fact that they _are_ is more than a good enough indicator of Tetsuya's current state.

Seirin's hands are tied.

By the time Coach Aida calls for a time-out, the score on the board reads 85-92 in Touou's favor. They're keeping relative pace with Aomine-but just barely. So far, they've been able to keep the gap from increasing, but they sure haven't been able to decrease it.

Seirin walks towards the bench, and Kagami finally attempts to use the brain that so many are convinced that he lacks. Tetsuya's Overflow has completely run out-she can't do anything against the overwhelming force of Aomine in the Zone, and whatever shit she had pulled right out of her ass before she used Overflow probably requires a whole lot more than she can give now.

(As a side note, Kagami still doesn't have a full understanding of the Zone-whether it's the basketball-obsessed player in him or the lack of brain cells, the very idea of a "Zone" very much boggles his mind.)

And even though he would never admit it aloud (for fear of being killed), none of the other members of Seirin's basketball club have the potential to stand up to a regular Aomine Daiki, much less one in the Zone.

_So what can Kagami do to increase their chances of winning by even one measly percent?_

There's really only one answer.

"Senpai, I need a favor."

"Huh?" Hyuuga-senpai turns around, an eyebrow raised in expectance. Despite the nonchalance that he exudes, Kagami, in a surprising moment of clarity, notes the way his muscles are trembling underneath his skin and the fatigue that lines his face. The observation only further cements his resolve.

"Let me go one-on-one with Aomine."

"One-on-one?" Koganei-senpai exclaims, even as the players all sit down on the bench to rest shaking limbs. "Three of you couldn't stop that monster! Do you have some kind of plan?"

"No," Kagami responds honestly, because, really, he _doesn't_ have a plan (that's a more Tetsuya thing to do, anyways). "But I'll do it." Kagami raises his chin slightly. "I have no intention of beating the Generation of Miracles alone now. If it'd help the team win, I'd happily be benched. But I have to face him alone." He can feel Tetsuya's wide eyes locked onto his profile, and he wonders if she knows that she understands that this isn't just for him, or even for the team. _It's for her._ "We have no other choice."

It's harsh, the way he said it, but Hyuuga-senpai understands. "Fine. You have two minutes. You're the ace. Do what you want."

"Captain..." And it hits him, it really hits him then just how heavy the title of "ace" is, just what it means to be the driving force of this amazing team. (Maybe he's ready, maybe he isn't, but he has to be in order to lead Seirin to victory.)

"In the meantime, we'll go at them with everything we have. It's all on you, Kagami."

He is ready, Kagami decides as the buzzer sounds and Seirin slowly gets up on their feet to play the last four minutes to the best of their abilities. He is ready, and that's why the low fire burning in his stomach and his heart is one of anticipation rather than fear.

Kagami takes a low, deep breath, ignoring the tense atmosphere as he sinks into a low, defensive crouch, focusing directly on Aomine, along with the ball held in the tanned teen's hands. Aomine makes a quick move to the left, and Kagami follows, only to quickly fall back into the previous position when it becomes apparent that the move had been a fake.

"Are you trying to prove yourself my equal?" Aomine drawls, the arrogant condescension dripping from his voice twisting sourly under Kagami's skin. He makes another fake, and Kagami matches him step for step. "You can't do it. After all, I told you. Your light is too dim!"

Before Kagami can react, Aomine streaks past him, dodging around Kiyoshi-senpai's attempt to block him and coming up the side of the net, making a layup over Kiyoshi-senpai's fingers.

"He made it!"

Kagami takes a deep breath. _More...I need more!_

"We won't lose." Kagami blinks, glancing towards the source of the voice. Tetsuya digs her feet into the ground before taking off towards Izuki-senpai and Hyuuga-senpai, who are heading towards the basket, the ball bouncing in Izuki-senpai's right hand.

"Let's take it back!"

Kagami knows the moment she rushes across the court, the way she moves, and he wants to shout for her to stop, that she should know that she's already reached her limit, but it's too late, and Izuki-senpai disappears in front of Imayoshi's eyes.

The difference is that this time, Imayoshi's hand snakes out and slams the ball out of Izuki-senpai's grip, sending it hurtling out-of-bounds.

_This isn't good-if the ball goes out now-_

"It's not over yet!" And it's with a detached sort of morbid curiosity that Kagami watches Tetsuya rush after the ball despite the heavy pants that rack her petite frame, reaching it just in time to practically smash it back into court, falling off her feet and hitting the ground with a sickening thud, rolling until her back slams against the padded walls surrounding the court.

The ball is still in play, but Kagami's attention lingers on Tetsuya's still form just long enough for him to note the way a low keen escapes her as she cradles her left wrist (the amount of observations that he's made today would usually be a cause for concern).

Hyuuga-senpai catches the ball, and even though he looks like he wants to run off court and check on Tetsuya (they all do), he passes it to Kiyoshi-senpai instead. The loud-mouthed blonde one from Touou jumps up in an attempt to block Kiyoshi-senpai, but his fingers are just shy of the ball as Seirin's center makes a smooth basket.

"You, okay, Tetsuya?" Kagami calls, immediately turning towards the girl, who's already getting up, waving off any concerned looks thrown her way. Her eyes shift from his face to something over his shoulder, and he whirls around, already having an inkling of what she's looking at.

Aomine stands there, and his eyes are focused on Tetsuya, who still hasn't spoken a single word. Kagami's never been all that good at anything besides basketball, much less reading people (again, that's a more Tetsuya thing to do), and that fact hasn't changed. Aomine's face is completely unreadable, even as a low, "Tetsu," leaves him.

"I can't let you pull away now," her voice sounds frankly from behind Kagami, and he's starting to wonder whether he should move out of the way. "An ace carrying his teammates' wishes cannot lose. I believe in Kagami-kun." The boy in question doesn't ignore the warm feeling that flutters through him at the utter sincerity in her otherwise monotonous voice. "Aomine-kun, what about you?"

The ace raises his chin slightly, and that's apparently all the answer that Tetsuya needs.

Kagami can't keep up with Aomine. The latter feints to the left before rushing past him on the right, blue light following his wake all the while. Another basket is made, and Kagami finds his frustration levels mounting even higher.

Two minutes left in the game, and the score is 98-93 in Touou's favor. It's a five point difference, and the pressure isn't helping whatsoever.

 _Damn it, why? Why am I so weak?_ Every single time Aomine passes him, Kagami can feel his chest growing impossibly tighter, heat boiling under the surface of his skin, because it's _frustrating._ It's _damn_ frustrating. _We have to win. I don't want to lose anymore. I don't want it to end here._ His eyes are stinging, and not from tears. Sourness and bitterness and hurtful, hurtful anger are twisting and pulling at his insides-and he just wants it to _end_. _I'm sick of seeing my friends cry!_

Tetsuya's crying face flashes across his eyes, and the familiar feeling of her throat tightening bears down upon him. He clamps down hard on it.

 _If I can't do it now, when_ will _I do it?_

Aomine's lean form streaks past him again, and Kagami can feel the draft that he creates blowing him back, backwards, and now he's falling into a spiral that leads somewhere that he doesn't know, that he can't predict-

His hands slam into something so achingly familiar, and the ball flies out of Aomine's hand, bouncing out-of-bounds.

Kagami has eyes only for Aomine, who slowly turns around, blue eyes crackling with energy, and some corner of Kagami's brain is convinced that his own eyes are mirroring the Touou ace's.

"I take back what I said, Kagami." He doesn't remember, nor does he particularly _care_ , about what Aomine had said before. "You're the best!"

A feral grin stretches across the tanned teen's face, and Kagami responds in the only way he knows how.

_Basketball._

* * *

Kagami's mind shuts down. It's almost as if he's viewing everything from the viewpoint of a bird, circling high above the court. _Is this how Izuki-senpai feels all the time?_

Kagami and Aomine match each other step for step, practically glued to the hip as they race down the court. The other basketball players can do nothing but try not to get in the way of the two as flailing limbs battle each other for the ball bouncing in between them. The frenzied battle is punctuated by moments of pause and sudden accelerations-it's not so much a battle of speed as it is one of reflex and steel.

Kagami takes the ball all the way down court, where he almost manages to make a basket before the ball is swatted out of the air by Aomine, the ball hurtling directly towards the little midget shooting guard who blinks as it lands in his hands. Kagami and Aomine both land, immediately racing towards the opposite end of the court, the ball soon following.

Aomine catches the ball, and the dance continues. It is a dance, really, the way their feet slide across the floor, so fast and graceful. Aomine's arm pulls back, and Kagami raises his arm as the ball leaves the tanned teen's hand, deflecting the ball. It slams into the wall behind the cameramen recording the game, but it's not over.

_It's not over yet._

The whistle blows. _"Out-of-bounds! Black ball!"_

Kagami can't seem to think of anything besides the ball and Aomine and his next move. Everything is filtered in that way. The ball is everywhere, and therefore, so is he.

However, it has yet to sink into a basket.

There's a moment of clarity, however, somewhere in there. In between the ball, Aomine, and his next move. In that moment, he can feel the heavy weight pressing in down on him, and this time, instead of breaking him, he's filled with even more determination.

And maybe that helps him, and maybe it doesn't, but whatever the case, Kagami finally manages to break past Aomine's zealous guard and the ball sinks into the basket.

Aomine has the ball, and Kagami presses in, refusing to give any ground. Aomine can't move past that spot. Aomine grits his teeth and leaps back, body angled diagonal to the ground, ball held in one hand, and without another thought, Kagami follows him into the air.

_Aomine, you're strong. If this were a one-on-one, I would have lost. I've already exceeded my time limit, too. But the reason I can keep on fighting is because I have support. I'm fighting with more than one man's strength! This is something that you don't have. For all the guys..._

The fog breaks, but it doesn't matter. "I WILL WIN!"

The roar echoes loudly, seconded by the sound of Kagami's hand slamming into the ball, swatting it out of the air. Aomine loses balance, falling onto the ground, but Seirin doesn't let up. The ball skids across the floor, and Hyuuga-senpai grabs hold of it, tailed by Izuki-senpai, the apologetic shooting guard, and the loud-mouthed blonde.

Hyuuga-senpai makes a quick layup, and the stadium bursts into cheers.

"Are you okay, Aomine?"

The teen in question slaps the hand offered to him away. "Don't touch me. I just tripped. Don't get in my way. This is the best part." Aomine slowly straightens up, arms dangling by his sides, and Kagami has never been so reminded of a predator hiding in the shadows as now. "Things are just getting hyped up."

_Well, Aomine's right about one thing._

The ball is thrown in, and Imayoshi's the one who begins to dribble down court.

"Come on! Let's stop this shot, even if it kills us!"

Imayoshi throws the ball over to Aomine, whose lips twist into a sneer as he holds the ball firmly in his hands. He immediately takes off along the edge of the court, and intrinsically, instinctually, Kagami _knows_ that something is off, but his body is already moving, and he's pushing Aomine further towards the line.

Aomine's feet don't touch the area outside of the court as he twists around, body almost parallel to the ground, arm extended as the ball is shot from his hand up in a steep arch.

_Crap!_

The ball curves over the backboard and sinks into the net _from behind the hoop._

Aomine laughs, but it's more of a grating leer. "I won't lose. A battle's no fun if you don't win."

Kagami doesn't care how much time is left. All he-all _Seirin_ -needs is to score. They can't play overtime. None of them would survive. Two shots. That's it. Just two.

They only need _two._

Izuki-senpai throws the ball to Kiyoshi-senpai, who's being pushed back by the loud-mouthed blonde. With a flick of the wrist, he sends it backwards, directly towards Tetsuya, who grabs ahold of it. She, as well, is being pushed back, and can only shift from side to side before she passes it even further back to Hyuuga-senpai, who's being zealously guarded by the mushroom kid.

Tetsuya darts from her position towards the pair, and Kagami can only watch because this is their best chance, their only chance right now.

Except they can't use it.

A pale hand is reaching directly for the ball, and they know, they all do, they know that it won't work. Tetsuya's Overflow is more or less ineffective, and Hyuuga-senpai's Barrier Jump will be blocked on its own. There's no doubt about it.

Kagami immediately takes off running. "Captain!"

He can feel Aomine's overbearing presence just behind him, and he'll deal with that problem, but right now-he _needs_ the ball. And Hyuuga-senpai delivers.

"Kagami!"

The ball is thrown over the Touou shooting guard's head, and the moment it lands in Kagami's hands, he's streaking around Aomine in a whirlwind, because they can't waste a single second, not right here, not right now.

"Make the shot, Kagami!"

He grits his teeth as he jumps, arm aiming directly towards the net-but then, it's stopped. Aomine's hand is on the other side, a muscles arm straining in front of him, and-

 _Crap. He's going to stop the dunk._ Kagami can see it in Aomine's eyes. _What should I do? Damn it!_

"Kagami-kun!" Her voice is full of warning, and Kagami's suddenly reminded of something from a while ago-so long ago, in fact, that he had forgotten up until now (despite its important nature).

_Don't tell me you believe that you can fight him in the air. That is only half the answer._

_I'll become able to move at will in the air!_ That burning determination hasn't changed, has it?

Kagami doesn't have to make the dunk. He doesn't, because there's an entire _team_ behind him.

Shifting his hand, he manages to force the ball from the death grip that he and Aomine had been holding it in, and the ball falls towards Kiyoshi-senpai. The center catches it, raising his arms into the shooting position.

"No you don't!" the loud-mouthed blonde howls, racing towards him and jumping up into the air before Kiyoshi-senpai, who bends his knees for a few seconds before launching up.

The two collide in the air even as the ball is released over the blonde's head and hits the rim. It rolls around the edge before slowly dropping in, falling as Kiyoshi-senpai slams into the ground as a result of the intentional (on his part) collision.

The whistle blows. _"Defense! Pushing! Black number six! Basket counts! One throw!"_

The looks on Touou's faces are priceless.

Kagami claps Kiyoshi-senpai's hand in his, pulling him up. "Amazing, senpai."

"Thank you."

"Not bad." Those words from Aomine sound more like a mockery than a compliment.

"There's only one thing we can do," Hyuuga-senpai states in the huddle before the free throw, his voice grim. "We have to miss this free throw. Then we'll steal the ball and score. It's the only way to win. Touou knows that as well. We've given everything we have and are at our limit, but they've got stamina and benched players to spare. Our loss is certain in an overtime game. However, with Kiyoshi shooting, Kagami and I will be rebounding. Naturally, I'll go for the ball with everything I have. But..." Hyuuga-senpai glances towards kagami. "If anyone has a chance, it's you, Kagami. Let's go. This is our last play. A battle for the rebound!"

The teams line up and Kiyoshi-senpai steps up to the free throw line. The referee blows his whistle, one hand in the air. _"One shot!"_

Kiyoshi-senpai takes the ball offered to him, slowly rotating it in his hands. Everyone knows what's going to happen. _It's the only option._

The ball leaves his hands and bounces off the rim. Immediately, the two teams jump for it, and Kagami grabs hold of it, his long arm managing to snatch it away from the two Touou players below him. His arm immediately seeks to jam the ball back into the net, but Aomine comes in from the side, his hand once again slamming onto the opposite side of the ball.

Kagami's arm shakes for a moment before its blown out of the way, the ball shooting towards the ground.

Imayoshi is the closest to the ball, and for a second, for a single second, Kagami really does think that Seirin has lost, that it's the end, as Imayoshi gives chase after the ball rolling towards the opposite end of the court.

_He should've known better._

A flash of blue registers in their minds, and eyes can only widen, jaws can only drop, as Kuroko Tetsuya comes up behind the ball, in a far too familiar position. Arm cocked back, legs planted, hips twisted.

_Did you believe in Aomine instead of me?_

As if reading his mind (how _does_ she do that?), a small smile quirks Tetsuya's lips. "I believed in both of you. However, there's only one person I believe will make the final shot! Kagami-kun!"

Her fist comes rocketing forward, and the ball is ignited back in the direction it came from. Both Kagami and Aomine immediately jump-it's the last point, the last basket.

Whoever catches it will be the one who decides the match.

Kagami just barely manages to grab hold of it, Aomine bearing in from the side, arm reaching out to grab hold of the ball.

"Go, Kagami!"

In a burst of power that he had never expected himself to have, Kagami brings the ball up and over, straight past Aomine's straining arm and slams it into the basket.

The whistle blows. The scoreboard says that it's 101-100 in Seirin's favor.

Zero seconds left.

_"Time's up!"_

Kagami slowly raises his fist, the rapid beating of his heart slowly beginning to calm. It's utter silence for a moment, for only a moment, before the entire stadium bursts into cheers.

_They've won._

_Seirin has really won._

Kagami screams, and it's loud and joyful and utterly, utterly _amazing._

* * *

Aomine doesn't know what to do with his hands. Or anything else, really.

_I...lost?_

It's new territory. He hasn't lost since...since he was a child.

It's as if a stranger has replaced Aomine Daiki.

"I lost." Saying the words aloud doesn't make them seem any more real. "I..."

_"Line up!"_

Aomine doesn't really know what to think. He doesn't particularly know whether he wants to rage or to scream or to cry or-or-or-give a fucking _crap_ about this-this one _measly_ point that means that he's lost.

_That Touou's lost?_

Oh. Oh. He hadn't thought of that. Aomine isn't the only one who lost. _Touou_ lost.

Kuroko comes across his field of vision, and her blank blue eyes look so fucking _tired_ , and Aomine wonders why she's the one who looks like that when _he's_ the one who lost. Then she starts to sway and-oh _shit_ , she going to fall.

Kagami just barely manages to grab her elbow before her face is reacquainted with the basketball court. "Are you okay?" He wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her arm up over his shoulders, and _damn it, Aomine_ hates _this feeling._

He has to do something about it. "Sheesh." His voice sounds less biting than he would've liked it to be, and Kagami glances up at him. "You can barely stand with support. No one can tell who won now." She doesn't respond, but her eyes slide open and she stares up at him with those blank blue eyes that Aomine had once known so very well, but now, it's as if he's never met her before. _She's changed so much. But I have too...right?_ "But maybe that was for the best. The reason I lost was that difference, after all."

"Why are you acting like it's all over?" Aomine's eyes flicker up to meet Kagami's. "Things are just getting started! Let's play again. I'll take you on."

Aomine slowly blinks, unable to comprehend the words for a moment. It's almost as if Japanese has become a foreign language. Everything has changed. Nothing has. Does Aomine even want this all to be a dream?

Even so, he understands the challenging tone in Kagami's voice, and so, on autopilot, he responds. Aomine laughs, lips pulling into a wide grin. "Shut up, idiot."

"Aomine-kun," Kuroko speaks up for the first time, and Aomine won't ever admit that he looks at her faster than he would for anyone else. He looks into her eyes, and they're a stranger's eyes.

"You win, Tetsu."

It's a quiet admittance that could never make up for the fact that Aomine looks at his best friend for three years and sees a complete stranger. (And maybe for even more, but baby steps, and Aomine still doesn't know that he's done more, that he's done worse things.)

"Can I ask you for a favor?" (It's a good thing that Kuroko still understands him, still knows him.)

"Huh?"

She raises her fist and the deadpan look on her face makes him, despite how very emotionally confused Aomine is right now, want to laugh. "You still haven't returned my fist bump."

Aomine blinks before he realizes just what she's talking about. Then he jumps back. "What? Who the hell cares about that shit?"

Her expression doesn't change, even as she raises her fist even more insistently. "No. Try putting yourself in the shoes of the ignored."

The words immediately hit home. _Maybe she hasn't changed all that much._ Because Aomine knows that the Kuroko in middle school hated loneliness most of all. Abandonment.

Oh. _Oh._ (He's starting to get it, and it's not painting a very pretty picture.)

"Fine." He sighs as if it's the world's biggest burden, but not even he can deny the warmth that tingles in him when his knuckles bump against her's. "This is the last time, though. Next time, I'll win."

"Okay."

_"Seirin High wins with a score of 101 to 100! Bow!"_

"Thanks for the game!"

_Touou has lost. They won't be playing anymore in the Winter Cup._

Kuroko's smiling as they leave the court, her eyes glowing under the lighting of the stadium.

_But maybe-maybe that's okay._


	19. Nineteenth: Vagabonds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Echizen rushes down the now familiar hallway (after having trekked it so many times the past few days, it would be a miracle, even for Echizen, to not be familiar with it) towards Seirin's locker room, ignoring the teammates that she had abandoned minutes ago in favor of racing towards Tetsu. Despite the apathy that has been plaguing her for quite some time (in relation to many things, not just basketball), excitement courses through her veins and she can hear her pulse thundering in her ears as she barrels towards the door and throws it open, not bothering to knock.

A chorus of shouts and colorful swears meet the sudden intrusion as boys attempt to cover bared body parts, but Echizen charges forward unperturbed. Tetsu is sitting in the corner of the room, facing the wall, probably a direct interference from some of the more conscious players (as a female playing on a supposedly all boy's team, Echizen can relate with Tetsu when it's clear that the latter's thought process is, "I've probably seen more dicks than tits in life, what does a few more mean to me?" Except it would be far less vulgar in Tetsu's own words). A magazine lays on her lap, and she's leaning back in the folding chair, her head resting on the top of the back rest, and Echizen only feels the tiniest bit of guilt when she pounces on the basketball player and screams, "THAT WAS AN AMAZING GAME!"

In a rare moment, Tetsu's eyes snap wide open and her mouth forms a tiny "o" of shock before her features are schooled into the brutal neutrality so integral to her nature. "Ryoma-chan."

"Oi, what do you think you're doing in here?" A rough hand grabs her shoulder, and Echizen curses inwardly as Tetsu's eyes narrow just slightly when she flinches. "There are people changing in here!"

Shrugging off the hand, she replies flippantly in an attempt to calm her racing heart, "Tetsu's here, so what does it matter to you? Besides, it's not like any of you have anything worth a second glance."

She ignores the indignant splutter and the giggle that she swears comes from outside of the open locker room in favor of plopping down onto a bench near Tetsu's chair, the fact that she displaces a few jerseys as a result not bothering her. "Good game, Tetsu."

"Thank you," the blue-haired teen replies politely, eyes sparkling slightly in amusement. "It seems as though you have given several of my teammates the same brand of coronary."

Echizen snorts, waving her hand dismissively. "They had it coming for them, if they weren't used to girls anyways. You know, none of you guys will ever get a girlfriend if you act like that every time a girl sees you guys changing!"

"Not everyone is as voyeuristic as you, Ryo-chan!"

Echizen tries her hardest to hide the blush that flames across her face and the slight crack in her voice when she screams back, "Fuck you, Fuji Syuusuke!"

She groans and resists the urge to bury her face in her hands as raucous laughter breaks out behind her, most likely erupting from the more vocal and...dirty-minded of athletes here. Tetsu stares at her without an ounce of sympathy, clearly saying without opening her mouth or even twitching a facial muscle that _you brought this onto yourself._

Eager to draw at least one person's attention away from her sadistic senpai, Echizen shoots forward, grabbing at Tetsu's limp hands, ignoring how completely uncharacteristic both the action and the pleading tone in which she stumbles through her next words are for her. "If you're lonely tonight-I mean, if you don't have anything to do, wanna go and hang out at this really awesome restaurant near here? Your team can tag along, if they want."

Tetsu carefully pries her hands from Echizen's grip, the amusement from before making a reappearance, even as she questions, "What type of restaurant?"

"Sushi-actually, one of my old teammates is the son of the owner."

Tetsu clicks her tongue in mock reprimand, and Echizen already knows that she has made up her mind. "Really, extorting discounts from one of your ex-teammates? I'm ashamed, Ryoma-chan, truly ashamed."

"You won't be saying that once you actually taste the sushi," Echizen replies, sitting back onto the bench. "Kawamura's Sushi has, by far, the _best_ sushi I have ever tasted."

"High praise from such a critically acclaimed food aficionado."

"I don't need your sarcasm, Tetsu."

Tetsu's lips quirk slightly, and Echizen has to smile (genuinely) in response. "You were amazing."

"I don't think that it's possible to get tired of winning."

_If only you knew._

* * *

The entirety of Seirin's basketball team and Rakuzan's tennis regulars end up piling out of the gym and turning in the opposite direction of the train station, instead heading towards Kawamura's Sushi. Admittedly, Echizen is more than a little excited-not just because it's been _forever_ since she's last tasted Taka-senpai's specially made sushi, but also because it's been forever since she's seen _him_. After everyone graduated, Taka-senpai had made good on his words and quit tennis, settling into the life of a regular student while training to become a professional sushi chef in his free time. As a result, he hadn't applied to Rakuzan, and instead moved onto Seigaku's sister high school with Eiji-senpai and Chiro-senpai. Echizen hasn't seen any of the Seigaku regulars who hadn't gone onto Rakuzan in...a long, long time.

(She misses them.)

And of course, Suke-senpai being Suke-senpai, he just _has_ to read her mind. "Excited to see Taka-san, aren't you, Ryo-chan?"

She slides her eyes to the side, Suke-senpai's smiling visage coming across her field of vision. They're slightly ahead of the gaggle of high school students, and Echizen's sure that the isolation was done on purpose by the smirking bastard currently keeping pace with her, but because she's in a relatively good mood, she lets it slide for now. "Yeah."

He hadn't expected the genuine response, but that's really the only way to deal with Suke-senpai. Give him the truth and (if you're lucky) he might give you the truth as well. His smile softens and his fingers lightly brush her hand. "Me too."

"What do you think of basketball?"

The change in topic isn't at all subtle, but Suke-senpai must be in a good mood as well, because he plays along. "It's quite interesting, don't you think?"

Echizen snorts, locking her hands behind her back. "If it weren't, I wouldn't be here now, and you wouldn't either."

She can feel his gaze burning into the side of her face, and she tries to focus on something other than the probing glances of her companion. She tries to lose herself in the rush of nightly commute, tries to focus on the warm tingles that travel up and down her skin covered by clothing, tries to listen in on the conversations of the two sports teams behind her, especially the one between Tetsu, Mura-senpai, and Renji-senpai. The blue-haired girl occasionally laughs, and Echizen thinks that it's unfair for the sound to be so light from such a monotonous person.

"Does it mean a lot to you? Basketball, I mean?"

Echizen throws a sharp glance towards Suke-senpai, whose eyes are open, blue burning with an intensity that she hasn't seen since a long, long time ago. "Nothing could ever replace tennis. You know that."

He hums, eyelids fluttering closed. "Lately, I'm not so sure about you."

It's an admittance of defeat, a plea for mercy, but Echizen can't take it as such when _she_ feels like the one crying. She wonders if he's found something. She's not really a dreamer-she knew that at some point, he would've stumbled across something. He would've found something, and he would've pursued it to the ends of the earth, and maybe at the end, he would find the truth.

He would find the truth, and he would kill her for keeping it from him.

As if reading her mind, he chuckles softly, hand reaching up to lightly ruffle her hair. All at once, the slightly strained atmosphere between them disappears. "But I suppose that doesn't really change anything, does it? As long as you're happy, Ryo-chan. That's all we want for you."

_She really is a loser, isn't she?_

Echizen wants to pretend like the prickling heat at the back of her eyes is nothing more than irritation from the far too bright lights around her, but she's not really a dreamer. A wobbly smile answers him, and warmth unfurls in her chest. "Maybe one day, Suke-senpai. I really, really hope that it'll happen one day."

* * *

When they arrive at Kawamura's Sushi, Echizen finds a pleasant surprise awaiting her.

(Taka-senpai's probably really glad that tonight is a slow night.)

"MOMOSHIRO TAKESHI!" she screams the moment her eyes land on the familiar broom hair of her (best?) friend, and before he can even turn around to face her, she has thrown herself across the room and caught him in a flying tackle hug (she doesn't even care that there are a few telling stains currently appearing on his uniform).

"Woah there!" he laughs, voice as obnoxiously loud and cheerful as ever (even though it's deeper and richer). A large hand drops on top of her head and slowly begins stroking down errant strands of hair. She keeps her face buried in his chest, silently enjoying the fortitude of his sturdy frame. "I think this is the first time that you've been excited to see me, Ryoma!"

_This is something that she has missed, and hell if she lets go earlier than needed._

"I haven't seen you in months, Take-senpai, give me a break," she mumbles into the material of his shirt, and it's a testament to how much he's grown that he actually hears her muffled words, a hearty laugh wracking his frame.

"You know, I'm not your senpai anymore." His voice is soft as he continues to stroke her hair, and she finally lifts her head to look up at him, ignoring the sounds of her teammates apologizing to Taka-senpai after giving enthusiastic (though less explosive) greetings.

"You're all grown up now!" is the first thing that pops out of Echizen's mouth, and Take-senpai's smiling face twists into a scowl right before he pinches her cheek in between tanned fingers. "Ow, ow, ow!"

"Cheeky brat," he grumbles, letting go of her cheeks and leaning back to let her settle more comfortably on his lap as she rubs her reddening cheek while sending him a petulant glare (read: pout). "And you haven't changed at all."

"It was a compliment," she snaps, crossing her arms. And really, it _was._

Take-senpai's face has grown sharper, his features more defined. His violet eyes now hold a sparkle that hadn't been there before, and his skin definitely looks more tanned than the last time she had seen it. He's obviously been training hard, because she can see lean muscle on his arms and chest, and she can feel them on his thighs. In comparison to her, he's grown a few more centimeters, his face now towering over her instead of merely peeking down.

All in all, Take-senpai probably has a hard time fighting girls away from him.

"I'm _sure_ it was," he replies in a dry voice, raising a disbelieving eyebrow. She merely sniffs at him before turning her head to stare at the other occupants of the table.

She immediately brightens. "Kao-senpai! Eiji-senpai! Chiro-senpai! Sada-senpai! You're all here!" Her eyes flicker across people she doesn't recognize, and her excitements turns into confusion. "Umm...sorry, who are you people?"

Six pairs of eyes blink back at her before one of them shoots up, pointing an accusing finger at her. "What do you mean, 'who are you people?'"

Echizen can only stare as the guy glares at her with a pair of burning brown, almost hazel, eyes. His skin is caramel in a way that doesn't really point towards sun tanning, and his brown hair is kept out of his eyes by a green sweatband. The longer that she looks at him, the more he looks familiar-and the more he pisses her off. She just can't quite put a finger on it... "I'm sorry, but I really don't think that I know you."

The boy splutters for a long moment, looking absolutely thunderstruck (why, Echizen isn't quite sure-after all, if he does, by some sort of miracle, know her personally, he should know by now that her memory when it comes to uninteresting people...well, it's a bit iffy). One of the boys sitting next to him blatantly nudges him and he slowly sinks to sit down, mouth opening and closing like a fish.

Echizen, who happens to have the attention span of a fish, only stares at him for two seconds before turning her attention back to her ex-teammates, who all sport varying degrees of sheepish embarrassment on their faces (except for Sada-senpai, who, Echizen is very glad to see, seems to have grown out of his "must take data on every single little thing that passes my peripheral vision" phase. Luckily for Rakuzan, Renji-senpai had also grown out of that phase before school even started). "How have you guys been? I heard Seigaku lost to Hyotei in semi-finals of Nationals." The flinch that the collective group of people give confirms her words. "Oh, how the mighty of fallen."

"Ahn, what does that mean, brat?"

Echizen doesn't even have to look to know who spoke. Only Monkey King can pull off that poisonous mix of derision, arrogance, and pure condescension without someone (namely, the shaking with fury Take-senpai that she's still sitting on) punching him in the face, if only because that wouldn't shut him up-it would only fuel more complaints and whines than anyone would need (or want) to hear in a lifetime. "I certainly wasn't implying that Hyotei's worse off without you. Honestly, I think they're playing better than they ever did under _your_ captaincy, Monkey King."

"You impertinent brat!" Echizen finds herself half-laughing, half-wheezing as she's dragged off of Take-senpai, Monkey King's firm grip around her ribcage practically forcing all the air out of her lungs (she's also very close to full-on panic mode, but hopefully no one notices). "Ore-sama shall teach you the manners that a kohai is meant to show her senpai!"

"Technically, you're not my senpai," Echizen manages to choke out, even as Monkey King continues to drag her farther away from the table of Seigaku members and towards the Rakuzan tennis regulars, who are all watching in amusement. "I don't owe a rude dick like you anything!"

" _What_ did you just call the magnificent Ore-sama?"

Echizen's laughter echoes throughout the restaurant even as a new bruise is added to her collection.

(Taka-senpai must be _really_ glad that there are no other costumers here tonight.)

* * *

Kuroko isn't quite sure what to think of the...unexpected _company_ that she is in tonight. She had told Akashi that she would be staying out late, so there was no need for him to pick her up, nut...

Now, she's starting to regret that decision.

Although, to be fair, Echizen hadn't been lying _or_ exaggerating wildly-the sushi here is a taste of literal heaven. Kuroko takes a bite out of another roll, wondering whether the sushi would last for an entire week. Maybe she'll eat some as leftovers when she's too tired to cook dinner (which, admittedly, is almost every night).

"You look like you're enjoying yourself."

Kuroko turns towards the voice, coming face to face with Yukimura Seiichi, whose eyes are glittering as he glances at her sidelong. Most of the others are either fighting over the pieces of sushi, arguing at eardrum bursting decibels, or just watching Echizen provoking other people with the desired results. She's kind of happy that someone had bothered to notice her sitting in the corner of the restaurant, quietly eating sushi all alone (she's pretty sure that most of them hadn't even noticed her presence). "The sushi here is very good."

"It is, isn't it?" Yukimura carefully picks up a sushi roll with what looks like a heap of wasabi on top of it, examining it for a moment before taking a delicate bite.

"Isn't that spicy?"

"Hmm, it is, but that's part of what makes it taste so good." His smile widens as he eats the rest before gesturing at the still very full platter of wasabi sushi in front of them. "Would you like one?"

"I'll pass, thank you." Kuroko doesn't particularly feel like burning off her tastebuds.

"Are you sure? I feel like you would quite enjoy this." As if to prove his point, he picks up one of the rolls, holding it out towards her, an encouraging (read: sly) look on his face.

"I'm quite sure, Yukimura-san. If you enjoy the sushi so much, it would be rather rude of me to deprive you of such joy," Kuroko rebuffs rather dryly, picking up another regular roll.

Yukimura's smile widens but he doesn't say anything else, merely eating the sushi he had offered her.

People like Yukimura and Fuji-she knows how to deal with them. After all, she's dealt with Akashi since they were two and in diapers. They all think the same way, they all act the same way-they may be dangerous, but she knows the drill.

Entertain them, and they'll be sure to keep you alive and kicking just to see you struggle.

It's probably not the best way to deal with them, but it's certainly the most effective. Kuroko is sure that, to a certain extent, Echizen understands that. After all, the golden-eyed tennis player interacts with them so naturally. It has even come to the point where they care deeply about her.

(Eventually, Kuroko will realize that there are many different ways to interact with people, and the most effective way may not be the most rewarding way.)

"She really is something, isn't she?" Yukimura asks rhetorically, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out that he's talking about Echizen-not when his eyes are following the girl as she leaps from table to table with the grace of a nymph, laughter bubbling from her throat while an incensed Atobe chases after her.

Is it irrational for Kuroko to be jealous of her?

"She is," Kuroko responds softly, dropping her gaze from the scene playing out before them to her hands on her lap. It's a time for festivities, a time for joy (they won, they beat Touou, and Aomine might just _understand_ ), but Kuroko has never felt so painfully aware of just how _unwelcome_ she is.

"I don't particularly like her."

The bluntness of his statement causes Kuroko to look up at the blue-haired tennis player, eyes just a few shades lighter widening slightly. "Excuse me?"

"Don't worry, Zen-chan knows," he says dismissively, as if that's an actual excuse for his harsh words. "She doesn't like me either. I wouldn't go so far as to say that she hates me, but there's certainly some love lost between us."

"And that makes this all right because...?"

"Because we're on a team."

 _Team._ Kuroko's eyes narrow slightly, and she laces her fingers together tightly. "Tennis is a solo sport, not a team sport."

Yukimura dips his head gracefully, eyes dancing in amusement. "I'll concede that tennis is a sport that requires more mental fortitude than most others-not necessarily because it's harder, but purely because on court, the player is alone. But you must understand-at the same time, they player is _never_ alone."

"That's quite the paradox that you have decided to regal me with."

"The one thing that Zen-chan doesn't understand about tennis is that she doesn't have to be alone. If she loses a match, it isn't the end. There are five chances to win three times. It isn't the end of the world if her shoes don't have enough traction against the court, if her ankles accidentally twist the wrong way, if she can't reach the ball in time-there are teammates who are able to back her up. Zen-chan doesn't play on a team. Tennis, to her, is a duel in which everyone is her enemy. There's a reason that she's unable to play doubles, and it's not purely because she has the cooperation skills of a teaspoon."

"That analogy doesn't even make sense-"

"But I think that you're doing good for her."

Kuroko pauses, blinking slowly up at Yukimura, whose smile has disappeared and whose eyes are dead serious. "...I'm sorry?"

"I'm sure you've noticed by now, but Zen-chan collects bruises like they're tennis trophies. There's a new one almost every single week. There's nothing that we can do about it. No amount of wheedling or prying or threatening has made her talk yet."

Kuroko slowly snaps her mouth shut, thinking back to the bruises she had seen when Echizen had been playing against Akutsu-san so long ago. The idea of there being more makes her sick to the stomach. "I have."

"Zen-chan's a very closed off person. She doesn't talk to many people, and those of us who she does communicate with on a daily basis are tennis players and have known her for at least a year. So imagine our shock when she was soon abandoning tennis practice-which, mind you, is almost her entire life-to observe that of your cousin's."

Kuroko immediately stiffens, and Yukimura raises an eyebrow at her reaction but continues onwards. "I pay attention, Kuroko-san, and I know about the Generation of Miracles. I know what they did, and I know that they have...quite the legacy. You can understand my team's apprehension when it comes to this matter."

"I can." Kuroko's voice sounds far away.

"Syuusuke especially-he has come to regard Zen-chan as his little sister of sorts. Your cousin has been in danger of incurring quite some ugly cuts and bruises these past few weeks just from being near Zen-chan at all. Now listen, from what little time I've spent with you during your training and right now, I can tell that you're different from your cousin. I would truly like to believe that you have her best interests in mind."

Kuroko slowly nods, glancing towards their current subject matter. She's now sitting on Fuji's lap, leaning her head against his chest, a smirk pulling at her lips as Fuji whispers into her ear. It's amazing, the amount of people that care about her-even the guy sitting next to her, who says that he doesn't particularly like her (and to be honest, Kuroko believes him-not because of _him_ , per se, but rather the interactions between them-and the pain that Kuroko saw etched onto her face every time she could finally see after another brutal round of yips, gasping and dry heaving), cares enough about her to tell Kuroko so many personal things. "I think that there isn't a single person in this room who doesn't."

The smile is back on his face, even as he reaches out with a hand and lightly brushes his fingers against her cheek, feathery light. It's a sign of friendship, of trust-and most of all, the most sincere and simple way for him to fully convince her that Echizen Ryoma is magic of the highest form. "Please take care of her, Kuroko-san."

_How can I do that if I can't even protect myself?_


	20. Twentieth: Meteors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

"What're you doing?"

Fuji watches in unabashed amusement as Ryo-chan begins to pester the enormous red-haired first year. He hadn't been there the first time Fuji and his teammates had been introduced to her new friends, but they must get a long at least somewhat well. Otherwise, he would be pushing the shameless girl out of his face, and Fuji would have to be forced to take some rather...drastic measures in righteous retribution.

"Calling my mentor," is the gruff reply, and Ryo-chan raises an eyebrow, leaning all of her weight onto his back and resting her cheek on his shoulder.

(Fuji's starting to think that she managed to sneak a few-or more-sips of the sake that Taka-san keeps stashed under the counter for the customers, and the only thing he can think in response to this growing suspicion is, "Why didn't she share any?")

"Ehhh?" she muses lightly, eyes following the rapid fluttering of the red-haired boy's fingers across the keyboard of his phone. "Who would have enough patience to mentor an idiot like you?"

"Oi!"

Ryo-chan bursts into laughter, and Fuji can only watch endearingly as she dances away, easily evading the graceless swipes the pissed off basketball player make for her.

So, maybe she's different, but it might be a good different. She looks happy-happier than she's been for a long while. His eyes shift from her figure to where he knows two other people are lurking, watching along with him.

For all their similarities, Fuji and Seiichi get along as well as cats and dogs do. Their distance isn't characterized physically-after all, they're on a _team_. They see each other every single day, they literally _live_ in the same dorm building, on the same floor-it'd be impossible for them to be physically distant. As much as they interact politely, there's a frigidness in between them that everyone seems to believe nonexistent-and to be honest, Fuji doesn't particularly mind. After all, these things are rather personal, and there're already too many people who can read him like the back of their hands. It's kind of nice, knowing that he can still lie to their faces (even though the thought does, strangely, cause a pang to echo somewhere in him).

So it comes as a sort of surprise when Seiichi's amethyst eyes stare back at him. In that moment, Fuji notices the nice blend the two make-Kuroko Tetsuya with her light blue hair and eyes contrasting against Seiichi's darker blue hair and burning violet eyes, both of them wrapped in soft, pale white flesh, and they both look absolutely _gorgeous_ in the ways that supermodels do-cold and untouchable, beauty so freezing that Fuji finds himself petrified for a single moment. But then it passes, and Fuji's lips twist from a smile into a slight sneer, even as he lifts his glass in a sort of mock salute. There's no doubting what the two had been talking about, and Fuji is more than a little miffed because _why the hell is Seiichi involving Kuroko Tetsuya?_

When it comes to Ryo-chan, Fuji trusts only two people, and Kunimitsu is the one who Fuji believes in most of the time.

"What're you thinking so hard about?"

Speak of the devil, and she comes.

Fuji glances away from the two tucked into the corner of the room, smile widening slightly, transforming in a way that only Ryo-chan could possibly do so. It's more than obvious that she's using him as a shield-the red-haired behemoth is halfway across the room, looking around wildly, phone still clenched in his hand with a caller ID scrolling across the screen. Whoever's on the other end of the line must be more than a little pissed off. Ryo-chan's not even trying to be conspicuous about her intent at all, crouching right beside him, practically melding herself to his profile. Considering her shorter and slimmer stature, Fuji has to admit that there's a pretty high chance that the basketball player won't be able to find her as long as he doesn't shift (and of course, he would _never_ do such a thing). "Aren't you a little ball of fun tonight?"

"You know me." Despite her playful words, her tone is anything but, and Fuji sighs internally, mentally bracing himself. When Ryo-chan gets like this, it's impossible to stop her. "And I know you."

"Birds of a feather," he replies dryly, and she puffs her cheeks up, crossing her arms, as petulant as ever. Some things never change.

"Stop mocking me," she grumbles, and Fuji has to hand it to her, she really _does_ know him, better than most people do. Even Kunimitsu would've ignored his comment, though the stoic teen would've understood the intention behind the words, if only because Kunimitsu _knows_ Fuji (just not in the way Ryo-chan does, and not in the way that Fuji wants him to). "I'm trying to figure you out, Fuji Syuusuke, and feeding me bullshit deflections aren't going to help anyone."

"Pray tell me what I did to deserve such an honor?"

Fuji's rewarded with a brutal pinch on the side, and he laughs, draping an arm over her shoulder (he would rest his arm on top of her head, but that would only piss her off even more, and to be honest, this is enjoyable). "All right, all right, I'll be serious now."

"Why don't I believe you?" she grumbles under her breath, and before Fuji can respond, the door to the restaurant slams open, and the chaotic rowdiness tames just enough for the two tennis players to glance towards the entrance in curiosity.

He should've predicted the second (much more brutal) pinch that comes his way.

"Wipe your mouth," she whispers, mirth practically pouring from her pores, "Looks like a tsunami's coming our way."

"It isn't me that you should be saying that to, Ryo-chan, and I won't even begin to wonder what you mean by that."

"I'm scarred for life, Suke-senpai, the things I've seen are enough to fell a lesser human being."

"And some day, you're going to tell me those things, right?"

"You're scarred for life, too, so there'd be no point."

**"Oi, Taiga, don't tell me that I'm going to have to bust you out of jail for manslaughter!"**

The English pours out of the blonde lady's lips as she closes the door behind her, obviously cold in a white tank top that reveals a toned stomach and an ample chest. Her long legs are clad in pair of faded jeans, the cuffs stopping mid-calf to reveal smooth, pale skin. Fuji's glad that he had bothered to take up extra courses in English, ones more advanced than the snail's pace the school is going at, so he can understand a majority of her words, even though her accent is a bit strange.

**"What the hell are you doing here?"**

It only takes a second for Fuji to connect the dots when the red-haired guy who had been chasing after Ryo-chan earlier points an accusing finger at the buxom blonde.

**"Is that really how you're supposed to treat your mentor? Taiga, I missed you so much!"**

With little warning, the woman suddenly throws herself forward with a grace that even Fuji has to admire, and she loops her arms around his neck, lips slamming into his.

The screams of the rest of the restaurant's inhabitants echo throughout Tokyo, accompanied by Fuji's and Ryo-chan's failed attempts at muffling their laughter.

* * *

**"I'm so sorry for barging in on a celebration like this."**

The blonde, having been introduced as Alexandra "Alex" Garcia, says, not sounding particularly sorry at all. She carefully wraps her hands around the warm mug of tea Taka-san had been so nice as to provide on the house (then again, most of the food littered around the place is on the house), blowing carefully across the surface of the hot liquid before taking a careful sip. Ryo-chan's frame wracks with silent laughter in his lap-obviously, he's not the only one who's noticed the way several pairs of eyes follow the woman's movements with the intensity of a hawk. He lightly nudges her hip, and she only laughs harder.

_Horny bastards._

It's a good thing that Takeshi has already left. After Alex-san had finally dislodged from Taiga-san's lips, the current Seigaku team plus several alumni had left. Now, only Seirin's basketball team and a couple of tennis players (namely Fuji and the minx dying of laughter on his lap) are left.

(The only reason Fuji is staying is because Ryo-chan is. It's his time to be on Echizen Ryoma duty, and Ryo-chan is well aware of it.)

Taka-san, the absolute saint that he is, laughs sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. In broken English, he slowly tries to reply, **"I-It's no pru-prob-"**

 **"Oh...you guys don't really speak English, do you?"** She sets the cup back down, lacing her fingers together. "Ja, Japanese is fine. I majored in it at college, and Taiga taught some to me, too."

Fuji raises an eyebrow. From what he's inferred so far, Alex-san must be Taiga-san's mentor-most likely in basketball. She's probably the person he had been furiously messaging and even called earlier. During Taiga-san's chase after Ryo-chan, she must've heard some...concerning things, so she probably came here immediately. But the question he has now is...

Why is a Japanese language major teaching _basketball_?

"You're a professional, aren't you?"

Eyes turn towards Kuroko-san, who had moved from her position in the corner of the room to the corner of the table that the remaining people are currently gathered around. Her eyes are fixed on Alex-san, and Fuji's miffed because _he can't read her whatsoever._

Alex-san blinks before jerking, the tea in the cup spilling over onto her hand. She hisses, quickly grabbing a used napkin and wiping off the liquid. "How long have you been sitting there?"

"I was here all along."

"Seriously?" She waves off Taka-san's concerned gaze, dropping the napkin and leaning forward, resting folded arms on the table. "Oh, you must be Kuroko Tetsuya. Taiga's mentioned you. I see." Alex-san stares at her for a moment before nodding, smiling slightly. "Well, to answer your question, yeah, but I'm retired already. The WNBA gets tiring after a little while."

"Tiring?" echoes one of the basketball players disbelievingly, but Alex-san waves her hand dismissively, clearly waving away the entire subject. Ryo-chan scoffs under her breath, and Fuji tightens his grip on her hip in warning.

 _Basketball is different from tennis_ , he wants to tell her, and he isn't sure whether she got the message or not, because she doesn't give any indication as to whether or not she had even felt the squeeze in the first place.

"Besides, my eyesight was ruined by an illness." If Fuji hadn't been looking at her, he would never have noticed the way Kuroko-san tenses up, and if Ryo-chan hadn't been sitting on him, he would never have noticed the way her muscles stiffen. Alex-san's smile widens, and Fuji's starting to understand why she plays basketball when she casts a knowing glance towards both Kuroko-san and Ryo-chan. Her fingers reach up and tap the bridge of her glasses, as if emphasizing her words. "Now I just coach a little club team."

"What are you doing in Japan, though?" Aida-san asks, from right next to the woman, leaning towards her slightly.

"Coach, don't get so close!" Taiga-san shouts, and Aida-san turns towards him, a confused look on her face, even as Alex-san drapes an arm over her neck, leaning in uncomfortable close to the brunette's face.

"Japanese girls are so cute," she muses softly, and _damn_ , Ryo-chan's laughing again, an Fuji can't even pretend to be disapproving because he's laughing right along with her.

"She's got a kissing bug!" Taiga-san shouts in that overly loud voice, hand reaching out-to do what, Fuji isn't sure of, and no one will ever know because Alex-san's lips are already on Aida-san's, and this is so _funny_.

It takes a few seconds for the situation to register in their minds, but the moment it does, Aida-san rips away from the lip lock with an ear piercing shriek, leaping to the wall, blushing furiously with her hand over her mouth.

Taiga-san drops his hand onto the table, rattling the dishes. "Don't do that to everyone!"

"What are you talking about?" Alex-san argues back hotly. "I only kiss girls and children!"

"I'm not asking about your kissing policy!"

Fuji's starting to worry that Ryo-chan might die of oxygen deprivation from laughing too much (she's starting to make these loud wheezing noises that everyone else is courteous enough to ignore).

"So, why did you come to Japan?" Kuroko-san keeps the conversation on track, the calmness of her voice and face honestly disturbing. Fuji has never met someone with that perfect of a mask (or someone with that low of a presence).

Alex-san turns towards Kuroko-san (it takes her a few seconds to pin down the girl's exact location, and the slight frown that pulls at her lips is more than enough explanation as to how the blonde feels about this). "Hmm...Taiga and Tatsuya." The latter name is foreign to Fuji, but Kuroko-san and some of the other basketball players seem to recognize it. "I came to see my two apprentices play basketball."

"By Tatsuya, do you mean...?" one of the Seirin players asks slowly, obviously fitting the pieces together.

"That guy from Yosen we met at the street ball tournament?" another player interjects with wide eyes.

(Fuji wonders why he's still sitting here.)

"Did he learn to play basketball from you, too?"

Alex-san tilts her head back. "After I retired, I couldn't accept my reality and was acting out." She closes her eyes, shrugging as if the inconsistencies aren't showing (why would she act out if she was the one who quit, the one who found the WNBA tiring? Unless she was lying-well, then, that just arises a whole new platoon of questions). "I played on street courts to vent my frustration. One day, this idiot here-"

"Oi!"

"-and Tatsuya asked me to take them on as apprentices out of nowhere. At first, I was reluctant. But...before I knew it, I was playing basketball with a smile. Those two have grown up and are facing each other again here in Japan. Of course I'm curious!"

"Actually, we don't know that they'll face each other yet," the captain states, and Alex-san jolts forward, eyes wide.

**"What?"  
**

"On top of that, we don't have a game tomorrow, so we're just watching."

"Really?" She looks crestfallen for a moment before straightening, a wide smile brightening her face. "Ja, I'll go with you! Take me with you!"

The basketball players glance at each other before shrugging-obviously, it doesn't particularly bother them whether or not she comes. Her grin widens, and she claps her hands together. "Sweet! So, now that that's settled, I have a question for you guys: what's the occasion?"

"Oh, the party?" Aida-san grins, even though her face is still flaming from the kiss. "Celebration for winning against the team we lost to in Inter High."

Alex-san's eyes brighten, and she raises her mug of tea, a gleeful expression making its way across her face. "Well then, what are you guys waiting for? Don't stop on my account!"

(Taka-san is an absolute saint.)

* * *

Fuji and Ryo-chan end up leaving early, if only because they've intruded on Seirin's team celebration for long enough and also-Fuji wants to play tennis.

Specifically, he wants to play against Ryo-chan.

She protests that she doesn't have a racket, and Fuji merely replies that they can drop by their houses to grab their rackets. At the mention of her house, Ryo-chan's eyes grow impossibly wide, and it's obvious that she's either about to make a run for it or vehemently protest, and even though Fuji knows-he just _knows_ -that he should push to see her house, push to see her living conditions because they all know, her teammates are all worried about her, about the bruises and the scars and the absence of Tenimuhou no Kiwami and how she keeps avoiding topics about home about her dad, and Fuji knows the signs, understands them, but his stupid emotional side is clouding his logic, and he finds himself _hoping_ that it's not true, that it really _can't_ be true-

And because of that, Fuji acquiesces. "Fine. You can play with one of my rackets."

The grateful look she shoots him almost makes the guilt and the ugly, bitter feeling twisting its way into his stomach worth it. (Almost.)

They stop by his house, and spend an hour longer than originally planned when Yumiko, home for winter break, then mother, then father, then Yuta all fuss over Ryo-chan who looks more than a little uncomfortable at all the attention. When they finally manage to step outside with Fuji's tennis bag slung over his shoulder, the two of them immediately begin walking as fast as possible away from the house, not wanting to get caught up by any of Fuji's family.

It's been a while since they've done something like this.

They meander towards the street courts, silence stretching in between them, but it's a comfortable silence, as all silences with Ryo-chan are. It's a point of pride to Fuji, that out of all of her teammates, _he's_ the one she's closest to. Sure, she respects Seiichi and practically worships the ground that Kunimitsu walks upon, but Fuji is the one that she talks to, that she clings to when she lets down her guard, that she laughs with. He's the one who can bring her out of her self-imposed isolation, and it's an accomplishment.

(He's always liked challenged, and to be honest, Ryo-chan is a challenge, but she's so much _more_ than a challenge now.)

No words need to be spoken throughout the entire process, and by the time Ryo-chan is standing at the base line with his racket in hand, windbreaker still on, shielding her bruises and injuries from the chilly air, cap pulled low over her eyes, the thrill is already zipping under his skin because he hasn't played against Ryo-chan since a practice match in between their transition from middle schoolers to high schoolers, and Kunimitsu may be his passion but Ryo-chan is his _fun._

She throws the ball up, and the floodlights throw the neon green into sharp relief, even as the racket comes into contact with the ball and it sails neatly into the corner of the service box. By now, Fuji has played against her enough to know all her regular tricks, and that's not even including all the time that he's spent studying her matches, so it doesn't take much effort for him to step to the side and hit the Twist Serve back easily.

They set a steady rally, just enjoying the simplicity of _tennis_. It takes a couple points for her to adjust to the differences between his racket and her's, but once she does, she doesn't give up a single point unless there's just as much a chance of her winning it as him. At times like this, in games like these, he forgets all the things that make tennis complex. After all, tennis can be summed up in a few words.

Two people with sticks chase after a ball bouncing over a net.

Tennis is tennis, and they sure like to make it much more complicated than it really is.

Ryo-chan is smiling as she leaps into the air, twisting her body in ways that defy physics, her racket coming down to execute a breathtaking Cyclone Smash. It blows away his attempt at a Higuma Otoshi, but the ball lands an inch closer to the base line in comparison to last time, and he knows that Ryo-chan notices this when she clicks her tongue and makes her way back to the baseline.

"Eventually, you'll have to find a new smash," Fuji calls from his side of the court, smile widening when she scowls at him, hitting an unnecessarily powerful Twist Serve. Its angle is much sharper than her earlier serves, but Fuji easily returns it because it's not as if either of them expected it to deter him. "Have you been slacking off these past few weeks?"

"I've been busy," she replies, lightly slicing the ball. Fuji easily reads the angle of her racket head and doesn't hesitate when the ball jumps backwards the moment it lands on the service line.

"Busy with basketball?" It's a rhetorical question, and Fuji hits a deep ball, the neon green blob landing directly on the base line, exactly where he had aimed it.

She shoots him an unamused look, even as her light body easily reaches it, hitting it back. "How very symbolic of you, Suke-senpai, but unfortunately, I don't have the brain capacity to continue this farce of a tennis match while dealing with _you_."

"How you wound me," Fuji responds in the same flowery language, lightly tapping it into the court as a drop shot, and she easily reaches it, hitting a high lob. "You're getting predictable."

He hits a crosscourt shot, and she doesn't attempt to dash for it because they both know that she has no chance of reaching it. Her fingers clench around his racket handle before she picks up the ball and tosses it to him.

"We've already been over this. You have no say in what I do, Fuji Syuusuke. Don't coddle me."

"I'm not coddling you."

"I beg to differ."

"Should I be recording this moment in time? _The_ Echizen Ryoma, _begging_?"

"Just serve already!"

Fuji's eyes slip open as he holds the ball out at chest level. "I'm not trying to dictate your life, Ryo-chan. I just wish that you would let us in more. Even if your problems are invisible..."

He twists his wrist, dropping the ball, and the moment his racket comes into contact with it, it seems to vanish, and Ryo-chan watches as it reappears behind her.

"We know that they're still there."

Sometimes, the only way to get through to this stubborn idiot of a girl is through tennis.

* * *

Alex stretches her arms, enjoying the way her bones crack. "Hey, not bad. Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from Japanese basketball. I'd better apologize for that one." The two teams line up on court, after having played a rather decent game. "They're lacking in size and power, but their speed and strategies are impressive." She leans forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "Furthermore, every player is excellent, too. Especially that number seven guy who just came onto the court."

"They made it to the top four in the Inter High last year," Izuki remarks. "That's Kobayashi Keisuke of Onita High."

"At one hundred eighty-eight centimeters, he's an unusually tall point guard for Japan," Hyuuga recites from the book in his hand.

"Hmm?" Alex murmurs, trailing Kobayashi's movements with her eyes. "Six feet, huh?"

"He's an all-rounder who can pass and score. He's one of the best players in the country. He's got something special."

Alex chuckles, watching as Kobayashi catches a ball thrown towards him, the air around him practically boiling. "He's pretty good."

"But..."

Alex straightens slightly, glancing at Kagami. His eyes are locked on the opposing team, and as she follows his line of sight, she realizes that he's staring at a specific person-one with a head of green hair, so out of place among the black hair surrounding him.

"His opponent today is..."

Alex's eyes widen slightly. She can _see_ it. His desire to win is so fucking potent, it's practically a haze wrapped around him.

The game is an utter slaughter. (Every three-pointer that sinks into the basket is another nail pounded into the coffin.)

Players like _him_ , this green-haired boy-Kagami has been playing against players like _him_?

She glances at Kagami again, and his eyes are still locked onto the green hair, fists clenched in his lap. She wonders if he can smell this boy's strength.

She can see it.

None of the Seirin players seem all that surprised, though. Even as they walk towards the train station, none of them seem awed. "I can never get used to seeing the Generation of Miracles play," Hyuuga remarks, and Alex's lips twitch slightly.

There are _more_ of these monsters?

"Honestly, it's depressing. Every school was chosen from its prefecture for its strength. None of them are weak. However, teams with members from the Generation of Miracles are exceptional. They make veterans indistinguishable from ordinary players."

"We know that." Aida interrupts Hyuuga, a sharp edge to her voice. "Besides, the most important thing is our next game. Let's head home and review the data on Nakamiya South."

"Yeah!"

_It's so nice...a team. Isn't it, Taiga?_

"Ah, about that..." Alex grins as she grabs Kagami's collar yanking it towards her.

"Hey!"

"Sorry, but could I borrow this guy for a little while?"

"Eh?"

"I'll make sure he's back in time for your next game." Alex's grin slowly fades. "Please."

_A team, Taiga, you have one now. But you still have lots to learn. Especially if you ever want to even think about beating the Generation of Monsters._

Seirin's fight has only just begun.


	21. Twenty First: Defectors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Random ass chapter, I apologize.
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

If there's one thing that Aomine can count on, it's Tetsu's predictable unpredictability.

Confused?

Tetsu's polite and empathetic nature would never let her call out a member of the opposing team she (her and her _team_ ) had just beaten. Of course, for all that Aomine understands that about her, there's no way he could understand what's going on inside of that complicated little brain of her's as she stares up at him with blank blue eyes in front of the sushi place she had called him to.

She's unpredictably predictable, and Aomine finds that far more amusing than he probably should.

"Hello," she states blandly, and Aomine scowls, eyebrows slanting downwards.

"Don't give me that," he grouses, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Why'd you suddenly call me out here, Tetsu?"

There's a ripe pause during which Aomine almost convinces himself that she won't give him an answer when-

"Let me be direct," she finally acquiesces, voice steady, eyes unwavering. "Aomine-kun, teach me how to shoot."

It takes a moment for her request to register in his mind (Tetsu and shooting? There's no such correlation), and when it finally does, Aomine raises an unbelieving eyebrow and turns sharply towards her. "What?"

"It's not really that much of a surprise, is it?" she asks calmly, as if she hadn't just asked an opponent for help on one of the most basic ways to lose. "You aren't an idiot, at least not in basketball-"

"Hey! Is that how you're supposed to be talking to someone you want to help you?"

"-so you must know that if I continue to play in the way that I have been for the past few matches, Seirin will for sure lose. As long as opponents don't bother to block me when I break past them with a Vanishing Drive, or as long as they make sure that there are no openings for me to pass, I would be shut down."

"Oh?" Aomine muses, dropping an arm atop of Tetsu's head, "Since when did you get all high and mighty, thinking that Seirin won't win without you on court?"

Tetsu stares up at him, not bothering to remove his arm, which goes to show just how serious she is about this. "Aomine-kun, it isn't arrogance. Against the Generation of Miracles, Seirin has no choice but to put me on court. I know them-I know _you_ -the best. I am, quite effectively, their trump card."

"Not arrogance, hmm?" Aomine snorts, sliding his arm off her head. The incredulous tone is all for mockery's purpose-of all people, Aomine _knows_ that Tetsu is someone a basketball player would rather have as an ally than as an opponent, especially for a team oriented group like Seirin. It's not as if Tetsu's blowing things out of proportion when she implies that Seirin will be crushed without her because, to be honest, it's the _truth_. "Why should I help you, huh? We're opponents. If I teach you how to shoot, that just means that I'm giving you another weapon to use against me."

She blinks slowly before replying, "But we're partners."

" _Ex_ -partners!"

Aomine groans, rubbing the bridge of his nose. There's another thing that Aomien can count on-Tetsu's infuriatingly twisted logic. For someone so calm and analytical, it sure seems like she's basing her actions more on pure emotion than any sort of sense. The worst part is that there's usually no way to fight her, because she always finds some way to twist his words and his actions until he's convinced that he wanted to help her in the first place.

_Damn it, Tetsu._

"Fine," he grumbles, and all of the pain he had just been forced to undergo is almost worth it when her lips twitch and a grin (or rather what _counts_ as a grin for Tetsu) splits her face in half.

_Almost._

* * *

It definitely is _not_ worth it.

Aomine comes to this conclusion (not for the first time) when Tetsu's basketball bounces against the rim of the basket again and falls down. She catches it as it rolls to a stop in front of her feet. "How was that one?"

"You can't be serious!" Aomine groans for the umpteenth time that night, regretting the fact that he had given up a night masturbating to Mai-chan for _this_. "What am I supposed to feel after you drag me out here to show off your shitty shooting, huh? I'm starting to regret agreeing to teach you how to shoot!"

"Why?" Tetsu asks, and there's a pout and a pair of puppy dog eyes in there _somewhere_ that Aomine refuses to acknowledge because he's a _man_ , damn it, and Tetsu is so fucking irresistible when she's begging.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe there's something _wrong_ with someone who beats a guy and then makes him teach her how to shoot the next day!" Aomine shouts, still resolutely ignoring her shining blue eyes.

Tetsu lightly rolls the ball in her hand, and Aomine's eyes are drawn to her left wrist. Every few seconds, it twitches, as if she'd been contemplating pulling it away from the ball. He lets out a long sigh, dropping onto the ground and leaning back against the pole holding up the backboard. "I haven't been able to sleep."

"What?"

Aomine leans his head back, staring up at the metal rods attaching the backboard to the pole. He can't help feeling like there's something intrinsically _embarrassing_ about what he's going to say, but Tetsu would understand. "I went home, ate, took a bath, and then I went to lie down. But I couldn't sleep. My body was exhausted, but whenever I closed my eyes, i saw scenes from the game. You know, I had forgotten how that felt." Aomine raises his hand above his face, staring through the gaps of his spread fingers, past the infrastructure and up at the sky. "My chest felt tight, I felt nauseous like I was going to puke, my head was pounding. Since I forgot about that, I kind of missed it, but now that I've experienced it again, I don't miss it at all. It still sucks as bad as it used to. It was an awful night, Tetsu."

He lowers his hand, rolling his eyes down to find Tetsu. He keeps his eyes on her face, even as the strain burns rather uncomfortably. Her hands have tightened on the ball, and her eyes are locked on the ground. She opens her mouth so speak, but he cuts her off before she can even begin to say what he already knows.

"But that's why I want to play basketball again so soon."

Her eyes widen slightly, and a ghost of a smile appears across her face. "Aomine-kun..."

The embarrassment rushes back full force, and Aomine, like the ass he is, lets out a loud, obnoxious yawn, effectively destroying the mood. "Well, whatever. It's not like that's going to change anything. Next year, Touou's going to win, and then I won't be feeling like that for a while."

That kicks Tetsu into gear, and she raises her head, lightly spinning the ball in between her hands before tossing it to him. He catches it, raising a questioning eyebrow at her. "Well, old timer, if you don't start playing, your skills are going to get rusty, and then what'll happen next year?"

Aomine's jaw drops as her entire body seems to radiate smugness. "You-that cheeky little brat is rubbing off on you!"

She doesn't laugh, but he hears her loud and clear, and it's enough to make him break into a genuine smile as he pushes up off the ground and lightly dribbles the ball while he takes off his jacket. "If you're so confident, then let's try some one-on-one, shall we?"

"I'm not getting any younger over here!"

"Remind me to murder Echizen Ryoma when I see her next."

Things will never be the same between the Generation of Miracles of Kuroko Tetsuya, but Aomine's starting to think that that's not as bad an idea as he had originally thought.

* * *

The fact that Touou was beaten doesn't fully sink into Aomine's brain until he finds himself making his way towards the gym the tournament is being held in without the intention of stepping onto court. He's pretty sure that he's the only one bothering to step foot in this building so soon.

(Maybe he's more of a masochist than originally presumed.)

Aomine ends up slipping into the back of the stands once Seirin's second game has been well under way, and he clicks his tongue when he notes that all of the players on court are upperclassmen with a seven-point difference in favor of the opposing team. None of them are at the top of their game today, and that means a boring and cringeworthy game for Aomine.

(He's not disappointed for long.)

Seirin calls for a time-out, and Aomine tunes out the speech that he's currently laying onto his teammates, only jerking back to attention when five resounding slaps reach his ears-

And then he's laughing, practically choking on his tongue at the sight of Seirin's five players bearing a bright red handprint on their cheeks. _Seirin's games are_ never _boring!_

A sixth slap sounds loudly, and Aomine really isn't all that surprised to find that it's Kagami Taiga who bears the glowing red mark.

Questionable methods or not, they work. With the pulsing handprints on their cheeks, Seirin goes on to crush the opposing team 83-77. Aomine isn't sure why even bothered to come.

_Of course they would win._

Not because they had beat Touou, not even Aomine's enough of an idiot to say that.

_Seirin would win because Tetsu is fighting for them-with all her heart and soul._

* * *

Aomine doesn't show up for Seirin's third game, but hears about it from Tetsu, who texts him the news later in the afternoon. Apparently, she had been hyped over the fact that her coach finally let her play after being benched the last game. Aomine smiles but doesn't bother to reply.

Seirin doesn't have time to be celebrating. They'll be playing against Yosen next, and Murasakibara is no joke. Out of all of the miracles, Murasakibara was the most frustrating to play against in middle school-his stature and his defensive ability leads to shutting out Aomine's shots, Formless or not. Speed means nothing against a giant who never moves away from underneath the basket. Pretty much the only way to get past Murasakibara's defense is through brute force, which is something that Seirin desperately lacks.

Aomine finds himself wandering around the local sports park that afternoon, not necessarily looking for anything in particular. He would play street ball but there's honestly no point since most players would take one look at him before fleeing the court. There's nothing interesting to do, and the wildly running and screaming kids being chased by harried mothers do nothing to alleviate the plague of boredom that has befallen Aomine.

(He had never realized just how much he relied on basketball to be a source of temporary entertainment-and now that it's gone, he's completely lost.)

If by pure chance or by fate, Aomine happens to wander past the basketball courts and takes a right when he would normally take a left to circle the perimeter of the courts. When he turns right, he ends up following a well beaten path that leads out into an open area-

Of tennis courts.

(Why is he surprised?)

And-surprise, surprise-who else would be at the tennis courts other than Echizen Ryoma and a pair of boys?

Aomine makes his way towards the court the group are playing on, having not particularly thought this through. By the time he's fully aware of the direction that he's heading in, both of the boys playing on court have noticed him, and the silver-haired one catches the flying neon ball, a distrustful sneer pulling at the sharp features of his face. "What the fuck do you want?"

Echizen twits in her spot on the bench, golden eyes darkening when the land on him. "You know, I'm starting to think that you're stalking me."

"Ryo-chan?" the second boy questions, lowering his racket and turning to fully stare at Aomine-with closed eyes. _What? There are_ more _people like this?_ "What do you mean, this guy is stalking you?"

"She's starting to _think_ , you idiot," snaps the silver-haired one, whose distaste has only seemed to amplify since finding out that Echizen knows Aomine and isn't on very good terms with him. "Doesn't anyone fucking listen anymore?"

"I could say the same to you, Jin," Echizen remarks dryly, glancing over her shoulder. "And don't even think about bullshitting your way out of that one-it's true and we all know it."

Jin grumbles but finally quiets down. Neither of the guys seem inclined to continue their match, focusing their attention solely on Aomine, who sends them a crass smirk. "I'm flattered you two think so highly of me."

The one with closed eyes seems to catch onto his vague provocation quickly, and his smile grows tighter. "Make another joke like that and you won't be leaving this park without a missing organ."

Echizen immediately shoots to her feet, raising her hands and holding them out, as if that'll physically stop the psycho from attacking him. "Woah, woah, woah. Woah. There will be no castrating, flaying, or ripping out of hearts today."

The boy turns towards her, something resembling a...pout...maybe...pulling at his lips. "Well, you're no fun today."

"When is she ever?" snorts the silver-haired guy, and Echizen scowls, dropping her hands.

"Remind me why I even bother to hang out with you two?" she grumbles, impatiently flicking away a lock of hair that had been falling over her eyes.

"Because you looove us!" the closed-eyed one croons in a sickly sweet tone, the atmosphere changing from deadly to barf inducing, and Echizen seems to agree if the way her face turns slightly green is anything to go by.

"Yeah, no," she flat out rejects, and Aomine snorts at the deadpanned tone so reminiscent of Tetsu. The sound seems to remind the three the entire reason for the ridiculous conversation, and three pairs of eyes swing towards him. "This is literally the third time I've seen you within the past week or so."

"You've been seeing Tetsu every single day," Aomine points out, and Echizen flicks her hands dismissively.

"That's mutual- _this_ is like you're purposefully tracking me."

"You act like I want to see you."

"It's the best explanation as to why you keep showing up without any sort of antagonization on my part."

(Admittedly, Echizen is hitting pretty close to the truth, but it's not like Aomine's willfully _seeking_ out her presence because who the hell in their right mind would want to spend time with _her_? On _purpose_?)

"This is pure coincidence."

"Why don't I believe you?"

The silver-haired boy makes a disgusted sounding retch noise in the back of his throat, interrupting a childish banter that probably would've lasted for a few more hours. "Don't fucking flirt in front of me, brat. It makes me want to throw up."

"At least that would be better than the shit that usually comes out of your mouth," Echizen fires back instantaneously, and Aomine has to swallow back his laugh. "And if this is what you call flirting, I can't wait to see what your idea of sex is. Two randoms beating each into bloody pulps on the bed? Oh, yeah, you'd totally masturbate to _that_."

The amount of poison in her voice is enough to make the boy blink slowly, slight surprise flashing over his face before a sneer takes its place, harsher than before. "Doesn't that say more shit about you than it does about me? If you're not even going to fucking watch us play, then I'm leaving. The only reason why I even bothered to keep playing tennis was because you kept bugging me about this, brat, so at least have the damn decency to be grateful about it."

Guilt flashes across Echizen's face but she doesn't say anything as he drops the racket onto the bench and tosses the ball into the bag at her feet. The second boy follows, lightly patting the top of her head as if telling her something that Aomine doesn't understand before leaving. His eyes slide open for just a moment, revealing a sliver of piercing blue, and Aomine is reminded of Imayoshit all over again. "If you hurt her the way you hurt Kuroko Tetsuya, I'll have your head on a stick and your dick on a bunsen burner."

Aomine decides to take his words very seriously.

When the two are finally alone, Aomine drops onto the bench next to Echizen, feeling as if there's no point in engaging in formalities considering what he had just witnessed. With Echizen Ryoma, there are many things that Aomine still doesn't understand, but the one thing he does is that she's an interesting person.

To be honest, Aomine kind of needs interesting people in his life right now.

"Don't say a word," Echizen grumbles, picking up the rackets and carefully setting them inside the bag at her feet. (Now that Aomine thinks about it, he doesn't remember having ever heard that Echizen played a sport, but then again, that does explain the muscle that cords along her body.)

"I wasn't planing on it."

The silence stretches long and thin in between them as she finished packing up, painstakingly making sure that everything's in order when it's clear that everything _is_ , in fact, in order. She's stalling for some reason, and today, Aomine's in a good enough mood to wait her out.

It certainly helps that she's not that patient of a person either.

"I don't like you," she states, and Aomine snorts, rolling his eyes.

"Why don't you state the obvious?"

"And when I say that, I mean I _really_ don't like you." She pauses, looking up at him to shoot a burning glare. "You hurt Tetsu. You hurt her a lot, and you don't even know what you did to her."

Aomine frowns. "I ignored her, yeah, and I wasn't the best partner, but Tetsu's stronger than that-"

"You don't _understand_." Echizen drops her bag, reaching up to touch her forehead before dropping her hand. "Of course you don't, why would you? You're about as aware as a red brick wall."

"Hey-"

"You didn't just _ignore_ her, you imbecile," Echizen growls, shifting in place to level a piercing glower onto his face, "You weren't just a 'not quite ideal partner.' You ridiculed Tetsu's basketball-and that's basically the same thing as telling her that her life is about as valuable as the piece of gum stuck to the bottom of your shoe."

Aomine raises an eyebrow, even as the beginnings of anger make their appearance. " _Excuse_ me? You haven't even known Tetsu for a month-"

"But I know her better than you," Echizen cuts him off, golden eyes glowing brightly with volatile emotion, hands clenched into fists, "so what does that say about your relationship with her?"

"You're not even entitled to understanding what's going on-"

"And you are?" Echizen snaps, uncurling one of her fists to jab her index finger against his chest. "You don't even know the first thing about Tetsu!"

"Of course I know Tetsu! She's my _partner_ -"

" _Ex-_ partner."

It pisses Aomine off that someone who wasn't even present for that conversation to parrot his words back at him. "She was my partner all the same, and I know her like the back of my hand!"

"Oh? So you know all of her secrets?"

"I know that her cousin is Akashi Seijūrō, that her favorite flavor is vanilla, that she excels in all things Japanese but can't do crap in chemistry or physics. I know that she's scared of being left behind, that she loves it when someone compliments her passing technique, that she can't read classical fiction for life but can spend hours upon hours buried in shoujo manga. I know that she wears contacts, that she can't use her left wrist without thinking that it's being put through a wringer, that she's so hurt and wounded but she can stand fucking strong, which is more than _you_ can say or ever deserve!"

By the end of his spiel, Aomine is breathing heavily, glowering down at Echizen who's staring defiantly up at him, mouth set into a grim line. The momentary silence is palpable, and then she finally breaks it. "You should talk to her more."

It's a curve ball, and Aomine blinks, jerking back. He hadn't been expecting that, and ends up blurting out the first thing that pops into his mind, "What the hell? What do you think I've been doing, spending these past few days trying to teach her to shoot?"

Echizen's eyes are no longer angry, even as she stands and slings her tennis bag over her shoulder. "Maybe it's not just you. Maybe it's both of you."

"Would you stop speaking in fucking riddle?"

"Tetsu has suffered far more, Ahomine. Maybe instead of waiting, you should just ask her."

"Don't just call me that name!"

Echizen ignores him, and Aomine can only stare in bewilderment as she leaves.

_What. The. Fuck?_


	22. Twenty Second: Phoenixes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Himuro shouldn't be surprised. After all, she's proven herself to be quite the capable blood hound, and no amount of running away could've possibly hid him from her.

"Alex!"

"Tatsuya!" Her voice is as boisterous as ever, booming out and echoing around the hallway. Eyes turn toward the pair, mainly attracted by the shock of blonde hair so out of place among the myriad of darker hair colors, but Alex doesn't care, as usual, throwing her arm around Himuro's neck, pulling their faces close together. "I've missed you!"

A smile pulls at his lips all the same because damn, he really _has_ missed his old mentor, even though she can be rather obnoxious at times. "What a surprise to see you! When did you come to Japan?"

She doesn't answer, merely puckering her lips and moving closer towards him. Before she can give his teammates a coronary (he can already hear the choking sounds of some of his less romantically involved senpais), Himuro places a finger on her lips, halting her progression. "Don't do that, Alex. People don't often kiss here." _Not to mention that I don't really know where your mouth has been._

She blinks at him before sighing, turning her head to the side. "What? You're no fun." Her eyes slant deviously towards him, a slight smirk curling the corners of her lips. The contrast is enough to throw Himuro for a loop. "Taiga wasn't nearly as much of a prude as you."

Far too aware of the nonexistent implications behind her words, Himuro forces his smile to be even softer, even warmer than before, even as he speaks over the incomprehensible gargling that comes (mainly) from Okamura-senpai. "Anyways, why don't we go somewhere we can be alone?" Without waiting for her to answer, he glances up at his teammates, who are all staring at him with rather gobsmacked expressions, except for Atsushi, who looks as indifferent as usual. "Excuse me, but could I step out for a minute? I'll be right back."

"S-sure..."

Himuro turns around, Alex dropping her arm from around his shoulders and tucking her hands into her pockets. The good-natured smirk fades as the walk further away from Yosen. They don't speak as they turn the corner, and at that point, Alex speeds up slightly, taking the lead. Himuro frowns slightly but follows after her anyways.

Whether or not the team waits up for him, Himuro doesn't particularly care. For now, Alex has taken precedence. Especially when she brought up Taiga-a calculated remark on her part, to see his reaction-not to the lewd undertones, although that may have been a source of entertainment for the closet-but-not-really pervert, but because that must mean that Alex has seen Taiga before Himuro.

(He definitely isn't bitter about that.)

They step outside, and it's surprisingly dark and overcast, but then again, it's seven and December-what did he expect? She leads him around the gym, to the back, where some empty basketball courts are roughly painted onto the ground. A crude hoop is nailed to the wall of a separate building, and Alex stops in the middle of the court, which is crisscrossed with white lines that don't belong on a basketball court. She turns to face him as he comes up, and her green eyes are sharp behind the pink rims of her glasses. "You're playing Taiga tomorrow, aren't you?"

She knows the answer, but it's more of a formality than anything else. Himuro plays along. "Yeah, we are. Have you already seen Taiga?"

She identifies the note of bitter irony in his voice, but she doesn't address it. "Yeah, of course." So flippant-maybe she really isn't aware of how much it hurts when she does that. Her head tilts to the side and the lines of her face soften (maybe she does). "By the way, I'm teaching him something I didn't show him while he was in America."

Himuro files that little tidbit of information away. "Really? I see."

"But it's not as though I only favor Taiga." The wind rustles, and Himuro is reminded of wind chimes as he watches her hair blow about her face. "I'll be cheering for both of you tomorrow, of course. After all, it's a match between my two apprentices." Her smile widens. "Win or lose, I'm expecting a great game."

There's a momentary pause, and her smile falters. "Alex..."

"Hmm?"

"Could you please stop treating me like a child? I don't enjoy it."

Her smile disappears and she recoils slightly. Whether or not it's from genuine shock or shock of him figuring out, her lips are parted and her eyes are wide as he continues.

"This isn't some child's quarrel." He keeps his voice as smooth as ever, but the steely edge is far from normal. "Taiga is only my enemy now. And you are not my mother. I'm grateful that you taught me how to play basketball, truly, but..." His eyes narrow slightly, and all pretense of nicety is dropped as his voice raises slightly in volume. "I'm stronger than you now."

Her eyes are bright in the darkness, but she doesn't say a single word, even as he turns around and leaves her behind.

He's missed her, but not even Alex can get in his way.

* * *

"There's someone interesting on Seirin's team," Himuro remarks casually, not glancing up from the book in his hands, even as he turns a page. Atsushi doesn't pause either, though the intensity of the crunches sounding from the bed behind him grows just slightly.

"Really?" the purple-haired teen drawls, stretching out the vowels of the two syllable word until it resembles a four syllable one. Another chip is pushed in between his teeth.

"Really," Himuro responds dryly, eyes darting over Japanese characters but not really seeing any of them.

"Who?" Another crunch, then the sound of wrinkling plastic as Atsushi rifles through the bursting plastic bag on the ground next to his bed for another snack. When he doesn't elaborate, Himuro sighs, gently closing his book before swinging around in the chair, abandoning all pretense at casualness.

"I was surprised to see a girl there that day, Atsushi, and I was even more surprised when she introduced herself. Kuroko Tetsuya-I didn't know that this basketball player you talked so much about was a girl."

Atsushi stares sullenly at Himuro from his bed, pulling an enormous candy bar out from the bag. As he unwraps it with a deftness that had surprised Himuro when he first saw him play, Atsushi mumbles, "So?"

For all his lazy childishness, it isn't like Atsushi to so sullenly answer in monosyllables, and Himuro is immediately aware that he's probably toeing a line. For once, though, he doesn't back off because he's _interested_ -interested in Kuroko Tetsuya, who he has occasionally thought of during the past couple of weeks, who he hasn't been willing to discuss with Atsushi for fear of angering the sensitive teen until tonight, who can control Taiga without letting him know that she is (and maybe even she isn't aware of the way he dances to the tune she creates). "She seems weak."

Atsushi viciously takes a bite out of the bar. Himuro presses forwards because if there's one thing he's good at, it's reading peoples' weaknesses, and Atsushi is no exception. "Are you sure that she's a part of the Generation of Miracles?"

At this point, Atsushi doesn't even pretend like his bar is interesting him, instead focusing burning eyes onto the duvet cover. It's admirable, it truly is, how adamant and devoted Atsushi is about keeping his mouth shut, but that only further fuels Himuro's determination to push forward and learn more about Kuroko Tetsuya, whose basketball is strange and different and so very entrancing (maybe Himuro's even a little bitter, just a little bit). "Honestly, I had expected so much more from someone you seem to think so highly of, but really, she can't even shoot properly. What does a player like her have to contribute to the basketball courts?"

"You're wrong." Himuro had expected this, but it still shocks him when Atushi's voice is dark and rough and low, menacing in a way that hasn't been directed at him since their first meeting, when Himuro managed to score a single three-pointer off of him with an unpolished version of Mirage Shot. It was a single point, but for Atsushi, that was the difference between trash and a powerful player. "Muro-chin is wrong. Kuro-chin is strong, stronger than anyone thinks."

Himuro raises an eyebrow at that. "Oh? Really? All she does is pass."

"Muro-chin is wrong," Atsushi repeats, and it's not an outright answer, which explains the pleased look on his face as he repeats the phrase again. "Muro-chin is completely wrong."

"Why don't you tell me why I'm wrong?"

Atsushi doesn't look intimidating anymore, especially as he worries at his bottom lip and stares at the melting bar clutched in his enormous hand. "I can't."

"Yes, you can."

"No, I can't."

"Why?"

Atsushi takes another long moment before nodding resolutely and finishing the rest of the bar in one big bite. He crumples the wrapper in his hand, chucking it at the trash can on the other side of the room. It lands perfectly inside. "Can't tell you. Kuro-chin would be mad."

He says it with a note of finality, and Himuro does relent this time, turning back to his book. He isn't particularly sure of what he had been looking for, but now, he knows a little bit more about Kuroko Tetsuya.

It looks like Taiga isn't the only dangerous one on Seirin.

* * *

"There they are!"

"They're the astounding rising stars making incredible progress in their second year!

"Seirin High!"

Himuro is unable to keep the smile off his face as the crowd's loud chattering reaches his ears. It looks as if Seirin's something of a hero.

"They're here!"

"With unprecedented shutouts in the second and third games..."

"It's the Shield of Aegis, Yosen High!"

And Yosen the indestructible villain.

Coach Araki's eyes slant towards Seirin's bench as the two teams settle down. As always, her voice is cold and calculating. "We saw our opponent's style in the videos last night. They'll come at us hard right out of the gate. But we don't have to do anything different." She raises her chin slightly. "Rebuff all their attacks. Show them our strength."

Okamura raises his head, eyebrows slanted downwards as he states, "Let's go, then."

Himuro's smile widens, and he glances at Atsushi sitting besides him on the bench. "Are you ready?"

Atsushi raises his head, blinking before turning to look down at Himuro. "Huh? Okay."

_"The Winter Cup second quarter final game between Seirin High and Yosen High will now begin! Bow!"_

Himuro stands in front of Taiga, keeping his eyes on the red-head's face even as he executes the superfluous formalities that always precede official games. "Let's have a good game!"

Okamura and Seirin's captain clap hands. It doesn't take a genius to guess what runs through the latter's mind as he stares up at Okamura, the height difference extremely prominent. Yosen's height a dangerous sort of intimidation that Seirin is made all too aware of.

The two teams make their ways to their positions. Himuro marks Taiga, whose burning eyes are locked directly on him, sending a warm feeling rushing through him. It's a bit flattering, really, when Taiga made it clear what he was looking for in basketball. Still, Himuro's attention, as always, wanders back to Atsushi, who is facing off against Kiyoshi Teppei-a dangerous player, a dangerous factor. As if proving Himuro's thoughts, Atsushi states loudly and clearly (for him), "Haven't seen you since our street ball game earlier."

Kiyoshi's head jerks up, and so does Taiga's. The two are obviously shocked at the fact that Atsushi remembered, and the purple-haired giant seems to recognize that. "I didn't forget you this time. Maybe I'll start by crushing you, Kiyoshi Teppei."

Kiyoshi recovers quickly, an easy going smile lighting his face. "I'm glad you remember me, but I'd like to see you try."

"Tatsuya."

Himuro glances towards Taiga, whose attention is no longer on the two centers. Instead, his eyes are piercing directly into Himuro's eyes. "Honestly, I don't want to play you. I wish things could stay the way they were." Himuro's eyes narrow and his lips twist. "But I'm done worrying about the details. If you're standing in our way, I won't hesitate! I'll crush you with everything I have!"

Himuro doesn't smile. "I'm relieved." He shifts his body so that he's fully facing Taiga. "Now I can play without reservations, Taiga."

The whistle blows, and the ball is thrown up into the air for the tip off. Himuro tenses his muscles, getting ready to catch the ball because Atsushi _always_ gets the ball, no matter what. Atsushi reaches it long before Kiyoshi and hits it down to Fukui, who grabs hold of it.

"It's starting!"

"Yosen's starting with the ball!"

Himuro's eye twitches, and he has to resist the urge to face-palm. Coach Araki doesn't seem to have such qualms, the echo of the impact of her hand hitting her forehead sounding as the whistle blows shrilly.

"Oh, whoops," Atsushi notes apathetically, and Himuro can only sigh.

_"Jumper violation, white number nine!"_

"Atsushi!" Fukui shouts angrily, not at all pacified by the lazy "oopsies" said boy responds with.

"You touched the ball too early," Wei scolds, wagging a finger like he's talking to a four-year-old who tried to steal a cookie before dinner. "Be careful next time."

"He's always doing it," Okamura sighs resignedly, not even bothering wasting energy on getting angry over the common occurrence. Himuro had hoped that Atsushi would maybe consider this game important enough to heed all of the constant warnings given to him, but apparently not.

Sometimes, Himuro wonders if Atsushi really is Japanese. (There's something about that height, those arms, and that hair that doesn't add up.)

The referee tosses the ball to number five, who immediately shoots down the court with it. Okamura leisurely plants his legs. "Well, there's no helping that. Let's stop a basket."

Fukui rushes forward, immediately stopping number five who passes it to Kiyoshi. A succession of rapid fire passes that Yosen can't stop occurs, with Kiyoshi sending the ball to Taiga who throws it over Himuro's shoulder. Himuro turns just in time to catch sight of the ball suddenly changing directions in the middle of its path to nowhere, and when he blinks, Kuroko appears, blue hair tied up in a ponytail, face as blank as ever. The ball lands in Seirin's captain's grasp, who immediately jumps up, the ball raised in his hands.

"He's open!"

"Go!"

Himuro lets out a breathless chuckle.

"Who's free?" Atsushi grumbles darkly, jumping up before the shooter. "I'll crush you."

The ball is released and Atsushi slaps it away as if it's nothing more than a buzzing gnat. Seirin freezes for a single moment, eyes wide in disbelief, but the ball lands and rolls. It's still in play. Number five immediately rushes after it, picking it up and guarding it from Fukui. He spins, dribbling the ball and attempting to drive past Fukui who matches his every step until the ball shoots out from under Fukui's arm horizontally.

Himuro's eyes narrow even as he rushes to intercept the poorly planned pass. Seirin has never struck him as being completely wild and without strategy. There must be a reason as to why they're doing such a risky, honestly _stupid_ attack like this-

And then Himuro realizes that he's completely forgotten about the one girl on court.

Kuroko darts in front of him, and before he can react, her arm is shooting out and her hand has made contact with the ball, deflecting it away from Himuro's reach and straight through the crowd of players, landing solidly in Taiga's hands. "All right! Nice pass, Tetsuya!"

Himuro whirls towards Taiga who's already bending his knees for the jump. Sure, Seirin has outsmarted them on this step, but...

Atsushi is already in front of Taiga, long arm reaching out and slamming the ball out of the air. Himuro lets out a small breath, lips curling into a slight smile. Seirin is unable to tear their eyes away from Atsushi, and the fear and the horror reflected on their faces are real.

Himuro rushes after the ball, and this time, Seirin is too stupefied to stop him and he grabs hold of it, dribbling down court. Taiga immediately rushes up to block him, face grimly set, and Himuro passes it to Fukui, who jumps up, shooting the ball over number five's hand. The ball hits the rim and bounces off. Kiyoshi and Taiga both jump up for the rebound, but Himuro and Okamura easily outstrip them with their natural height. Himuro taps the falling ball back up and into the basket.

"He made his shot!"

"Yosen scores first!"

Himuro's smile slips back on as he retreats into the defensive, keeping an eye on Taiga the entire time. The red-haired player's grits his teeth, clearly frustrated.

Kiyoshi grabs the ball from out of bounds, throwing it in to Kuroko. Himuro is immediately on guard as he watches her grab hold of it solidly in her right hand before suddenly the ball is shooting from that side of the court, cutting through the players and slamming into number five's hands with a sound that makes Himuro wince in empathy.

The pass is a shock, but in the end, a negligible little blip. Number five seems to realize this as he screeches to a halt right before Atsushi, who hasn't moved an inch from under the net. "What, you're not coming?"

The hesitation gives time for Okamura and Wei to rush up and provide two more layers of defense in between number five and the basket. "Counterattacks don't work against us," Okamura boasts, arms and legs wide.

"He's just lazy," Wei rebuffs, rolling his eyes.

"Izuki!" Seirin's captain shouts, immediately rewarded with a lightning fast pass. He quickly jumps up, releasing the ball faster than expected and outside of Atsushi's range of defense. The ball arcs high up into the air, but Okamura manages to disrupt its smooth path with a finger, and it bounces off the rim.

Atsushi grabs the rebound, lobbing it to Fukui who races down court and manages to drop a layup. By now, Seirin must understand. With Atsushi stationed under the net, there's no chance of success for them. Without rebounds, Seirin is crippled.

_It's practically over._

Twenty seconds left in the first quarter and the score is 18-0 in Yosen's favor. The tension is high, and Himuro lets out a small sigh, lightly wiping away the sweat on his forehead. These last seconds of the first quarter are critical. For now, Seirin's engine is still running hot-albeit slow and rather ineffectively. Still though-if Yosen manages to score another goal, they could very well completely shut Seirin down.

Fukui grabs hold of the ball, making a three-pointer. Taiga roars, jumping up in front of the blonde and managing to brush its surface with a finger, causing the ball to bounce of the rim of the basket.

"He missed!"

It's not likely that'll do anything, though. Okamura and Wei are both jostling for the ball. Kiyoshi and Seirin's captain have no chance of grabbing the rebound.

Himuro's almost disappointed. He had thought Seirin might last longer than all the other teams.

(He should've known better.)

A hand shoots out from the tangle of hands reaching for the ball, and Himuro can only watch with wide eyes as Kiyoshi grabs hold of the airborne ball with a single hand, extending his reach almost by a disturbing factor. He lands just as the buzzer sounds, signaling the end of the first quarter.

_This is...problematic._

"Kiyoshi!"

"He defended the basket!"

"We can do it!"

"We're still in this game!"

"My, my," Himuro sighs, pulling one arm up over his head to stretch his muscles as he glances at Seirin's bench out of the corner of his eyes. It looks like they're having a serious strategy meeting. "That was quite the surprise we had there."

"I can't believe Kiyoshi managed to grab that ball with one hand," Okamura states, dumbfounded, staring down at his own. "That's ridiculous."

"Muro-chin, can I have some snacks?"

Himuro turns to look at Atsushi, who's covering a yawn with his hand. "We've already been over this, Atsushi. You can't eat snacks during matches."

"But we're not playing," Atsushi points out obstinately, and Himuro sighs.

"That isn't the point."

"We may have the upper hand right now," Coach Araki interrupts, eye twitching slightly, "but don't think that you can get lazy now. Seirin will find a way to counterattack, no matter how improbable it may seem. Don't get ahead of yourselves."

Murmured assents greet her words as the buzzer sounds and Yosen's starting players stand up to make their way back on court.

Kuroko tosses the ball in to number five, and Wei and Okamura immediately rush up on him, blocking any clear path from him to his teammates. Number five shifts around, managing to force the ball through an opening past Fukui. Kiyoshi catches the ball, and Himuro wonders whether he should laugh at their stupidity or admire their bravery.

Kiyoshi whirls around Atsushi's wide girth, jumping up with the ball in hand. Atsushi slowly turns his head, as laidback as ever. "What? You think you can get around me like that?"

Atsushi leaps, his shadow thrown over Kiyoshi, but Himuro can still see Seirin's center's determined eyes, and that's all he needs to know that something dangerous is coming.

"No, of course I don't."

Instead of making a straight shot that would be in the direct line of Atsushi's hand, Kiyoshi tosses the ball around Atsushi's long arm the ball arcing over the basket-straight towards Taiga.

_Nice try, but they underestimate Atsushi._

The moment he lands, he whirls around and jumps back up, hand slamming against the ball and pushing back against Taiga in a deadlock. _It's over._

"Don't say it's over yet!" As if reading Himuro's mind, Taiga brings his other hand up and wrenches the ball out from between the two players, throwing it directly down at-

Kuroko Tetsuya?

 _No way._ Kuroko's hands come up into an unfamiliar form-her right hand is cradling the bottom of the ball, her left hand supporting it to keep it from falling. _What type of form is that?_

And despite the ridiculousness of it all, Atsushi is rushing towards Kuroko, eyes wide in a panic that Himuro hasn't seen in a long while, not since their first one-one-one, and then he's jumping up in front of Kuroko's petite form, a sight that looks almost comic despite the situation. She doesn't even try to jump, yet the ball shoots up, up, and up at an impossible angle before-

It disappears.

Seconds later, it drops into the basket, bouncing onto the ground.

"All right!"

"Kuroko!"

"Yeah!"

Twenty-five seconds into the second quarter and the score is 18-2 in Yosen's favor.

"We finally scored our first point..."

"...Against the Shield of Aegis!"

Himuro's eyes swing from the rolling basketball to where Atsushi and Kuroko stand. The former's face is pulled into an ugly sneer, even as he towers over the girl. "Kuro-chin..." She slowly lowers her hands, eyes unwavering even at the height. "Honestly, I'm surprised. I didn't think that _you'd_ be the first to score against me in this tournament." Himuro wonders if the derision in his voice masks a twisted sort of pride.

She blinks. "Really?" Atsushi glowers. "In that case, I hope you'll be careful in the future."

"Just answer one question."

Himuro perks up, moving slightly closer to the pair. This is the first time that he's ever heard Atsushi express further interest in something, at least to the point of explicitly asking a question (well, for anything other than asking for a pair of scissors to open his snacks).

"Yes?"

"How did you shoot with your left hand?"

Kuroko stiffens slightly, but it's enough for Himuro to notice. _Left hand, left hand, left hand..._ Now that Himuro thinks of it, he has never seen her do anything strenuous with her left hand. _An injury, maybe?_

"Honestly, _I'm_ surprised that you even noticed. I can only tell you this, though-my old style doesn't exist anymore. And really, I think that's for the best."

Atsushi's eyes widen as she turns and jogs down court. Himuro swiftly approaches him, gently laying a hand on his forearm. "Atsushi, what did that mean?"

It's a testament to how utterly shocked he is when Atsushi replies, "I don't know, Muro-chin. I really don't."


	23. Twenty Third: Parallels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this perspective long overdue? Probably.
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

As always, Tetsuya never fails to surprise Akashi. That is the one constant thing about her. Ever since he first met her, hiding behind her mother's skirts with wide, somber eyes that don't fit on a porcelain face quite right, she has constantly, stubbornly, and at times unintentionally challenged him every step of the way.

(Some days he hates it.)

He tries to pretend like he's proud of her, but that fails spectacularly (only when it comes to Tetsuya, only her). He wonders whether he should tell her, but decides against it-familial and personal ties aside, he truly will do anything to win, even if that means withholding information from his favorite cousin.

"Wow, what was that?" Kotarou exclaims from beside Akashi, leaning forward to latch onto the railing separating the audience and a twenty foot drop. His eyes are bright an excited as they rove around the court, probably trying to locate Tetsuya. After a couple of seconds, they focus on the flash of blue currently being dwarfed by Atsushi. Even from here, Akashi can feel his ex-teammate's hostility (well, for Atsushi, anyways) as he carefully remarks on Tetsuya's newfound ability. "Did you see that, Akashi? It flew up and disappeared! And then went straight into the basket! _Woosh_!"

"It seems that Tetsuya's new technique has the ability to lower your already abysmally low IQ," Akashi remarks dryly, eyes flickering from Tetsuya's figure to Kotarou, who continues to smile in awe. "I will have to invite her to visit more often if that is the case."

"You're even more prickly than usual, Sei-chan," Reo remarks from the other side of Kotarou.

"I told you to stop calling me that."

"Where's Mayu?" Eikichi roars from next to Akashi, oblivious to the way the surrounding audience members inch away from him.

"Probably off somewhere with those magazines he likes so much," Reo answers flippantly, lightly resting three fingers on his cheek, tilting his head to the side. "That being said, I would've thought he'd have liked to watch the person he's modeled after-I mean, the point of comparison would be rather-"

"Neither Tetsuya nor Chihiro are experiments, Reo," Akashi states icily, watching as the game continues below them. Fukui begins with the ball, dribbling it just shy of the three-pointer line. Izuki marks him, and it's clear that Fukui is waiting for an opening. The rest of his teammates are guarded closely by Seirin's man-to-man defense, with Kiyoshi holding Wei, Tetsuya and Hyuuga double teaming Himuro, and Kagami fighting to secure his position under the net against Okamura.

"Hmm, really?" Reo ignores the warning tone Akashi had used, along with the frantic head shaking and throat slashing gestures the two other Rakuzan regulars make. "From what I've heard, Mayu's pretty much just a carbon copy of Kuroko Tetsuya, if only with stronger base specs than her. Not experiments my ass."

"Reo," Akashi grinds out tightly, keeping as composed a face as possible considering the overwhelming need to suddenly sock the (mostly) self-proclaimed bishounen in the gut. His fingers twitch with the urge to draw out the scissors he usually keeps hidden on his person, until he realizes that in accordance to Tetsuya's rules, he had left his sharpest pair in the locker room, which means that his old, duller ones are the only pairs tucked into his secret hiding spot. Normally that wouldn't give him any sort of pause, but dull scissors cause so much _blood_. It'd be a pain to clean up.

Sensing Akashi's murderous and currently not-so-stellar mood, Reo wisely keeps his mouth shut, turning his head back to the game just as Okamura manages to score a goal, having evidently overwhelmed Kagami through brute strength. It's a pain to be watching this match, even if Tetsuya had developed a new move, especially since Akashi had driven the team a bit harder than usual just so they could finish quicker.

Tetsuya holds the ball, easily driving past Fukui without a moment's hesitation. It seems that in the past few weeks, a miracle has been working on her.

(Akashi has a good idea about what-or _who_ -that miracle is.)

It isn't even the speed at which she's been churning out effective, astounding techniques-it's the fact that she's willing to in the first place. Nepotism, after all, only boosts Tetsuya's position in his eyes so much, and even Akashi isn't stingy enough to deny the fact that Tetsuya is clever-hell, if she puts her mind to it, she could corner and outsmart _him_ in the strategy game of all strategy games.

 _Him_. Really, that's high praise, coming from him.

The one thing that had been holding her back, however, were her self-constructed barriers. Between wondering whether she had overstepped her boundaries and hoping that she could somehow break them down, Tetsuya had ended up creating an endless spiral that she forced herself to circle within until just recently. Up until that point, she had been denying herself the chance to change and improve, using her injuries as scapegoats.

If, back then, she had been a formidable opponent, she, now, is a soul shattering monster.

(And still people question her legitimacy.)

She comes to a stop not far from the basket, raising her arms to make a shot but her muscles aren't tensing and Akashi can already predict what's about to happen.

Wei jumps up, arms raised to block a shot that will never happen, and Himuro screams, "Don't be fooled, Liu!"

The ball shoots off to the side, landing in Hyuuga's grasp, who jumps and sinks a quick basket.

"He made the shot!"

"Nice shot!"

It seems that Tetsuya's mind is still as sharp and vindictive as ever. A play like that-now, that's something that only Tetsuya would be able to pull off in the heat of the moment (maybe Akashi too, but he's a bit more direct that she is). Of all people, she understands the psychological impacts certain actions and subtle nuances can create, and she understands how and when to create them. Of course she would introduce her new technique through such a dramatic opening, and of course she would follow up with a confident three-pointer by the same captain who had been shut out in the last quarter.

Who says that Tetsuya doesn't have a sense of humor?

Even so, Yosen is far from losing stride. Okamura quickly retakes a basket after the ball undergoes a quick exchange of hands. So far, Kagami is completely overwhelmed by Yosen's captain. Akashi runs his eyes over the forms of the players on court. Many of them are already sweating from exertion-Tetsuya, most of all. Considering her petite form and her sex, it's no wonder that she's tiring out much faster than the basketball players surrounding her. Still, her blue eyes glow with a cold fire that Akashi can't help but smile at, so not all is lost.

Akashi doesn't make it a habit to focus on individual players. Rather, he sees the court as a whole-much like Izuki's Eagle Eye, except the only reason he can see the whole court laid out before him right now is because he's sitting at quite the vantage point. Even on court, though, he focuses on the big picture. He trusts the individual pieces to be working at their fullest, so that means that he need only monitor the machine as a whole.

As a result, he can catch things that most others wouldn't, including positioning, body language, and communication, all key components in a team, contact sport like basketball. For a tactical player like him, that means that he can draw conclusions and predictions on the spot and act on them.

Tetsuya is the exact opposite. From a very young age, she has been so tuned in to other's sensitivities-as if, by extinguishing her own, she amplified others'. (Which, again, is just as contradictory in comparison to him-after all, his have been burned to ash long ago, and what does he care about others beside her?) Her tactical plays are based on individual components, what she observes and notes in the faces and the bodies of the players within her range of sense. She utilizes careful consideration before implementing tactics-it takes seconds, _minutes_ longer than Akashi's own plays, but two times out of five, she will be able to corner him.

Of course, there are pros and cons to everything in life, and tactical strategy is included within that category. He chooses one way, and she chooses the other. It's been so long since they've played against each other, Akashi truly doesn't know who would emerge the winner.

Even so, Tetsuya has always been an exception, ever since they first met, and that's why his eyes linger on her blue head longer than usual every time the ball is tapped by her fingers. The ball shoots from side to side, a sort of rendition of Newton's pendulum, before it lands in Izuki's hands and sinks into the basket.

Seirin is catching up faster and faster, basket by basket.

It's a short lived victory, though, as Kagami finds himself fighting a losing battle against Okamura, who continues to push him back through his height and strength. For all the good that Tetsuya's revelation and support has done for Seirin, if her light doesn't figure out a way of the situation he's currently in, Seirin's chances of winning diminish to almost zero percent.

(Almost because Akashi has spent too long by Tetsuya's side, and he understands her more than he should. And maybe that's why he's watching this match the way she does-tailing individuals, letting the whole picture grow unfocused and blurry for the sake of creating a master plan-maybe he just wants to see through her eyes right now, against Atsushi.)

It takes him a few precious seconds during which his teammates keep the ball from coming close to Okamura, but Kagami finally manages to figure it out, lowering his hips and readjusting his center of gravity, supporting both his and Okamura's weight on sturdy legs, holding Okamura back. By the time the ball is thrown into the Yosen captain's hand, the pair haven't yet passed inside, and Kagami is able to slap the ball out of the air. The rebound is grabbed by Kiyoshi, who throws it to a racing Hyuuga. Atsushi still hasn't moved from his position under the net, but that doesn't diminish the oppressive aura that surrounds him as he holds his arms out wide. Hyuuga pulls back, jumping up as if to shoot and Atsushi, as predicted, jumps up as well. The ball is thrown between Atsushi's spread legs, and Tetsuya catches it from behind Atsushi, hands held up in that strange form. Atsushi doesn't give an inch, whirling around and launching back up into the air the moment he lands, shadowing Tetsuya's ridiculously small form, large hand coming down to slam the ball out of her grip (her left wrist doesn't shake, Akashi notes)-

But of course, none of that matters.

The ball shoots out from underneath Atsushi's hand, the afterimages burning right through his fingers, and still the ball climbs up at an impossible angle until it sinks into the basket, the buzzer sounding just a second later.

It's the end of the second quarter, and the score is 29-17 in Yosen's favor.

Seirin has caught up from a gap of eighteen points to a gap of only eight.

_"We will now take a break."_

Akashi stands up, and Kotarou immediately looks up at him, eyes wide and questioning. "Huh? Where're you going?"

"Some fresh air," Akashi replies rather vaguely, and he knows it very well.

That's probably Koatrou's only saving grace when he grumbles, "Bullshit," as Akashi walks away.

* * *

At first, Akashi thinks of visiting Tetsuya in Seirin's locker rooms, but immediately disregards the notion. At the moment, only Kiyoshi should know the relationship between the two of them, and it wouldn't make sense to those who aren't aware for Akashi Seijūrō to show up at their private half time meeting looking for Tetsuya.

Besides, it might not be a good idea to bother his cousin right now. She must be thinking really hard about what to do right now.

Instead, Akashi takes a detour, wandering the more reclusive hallways of the gym, off a ways from the main passageways. He rarely has the luxury of squandering time like this, and during times like these, he likes to make the best of it.

Of course, even this has to be ruined.

Akashi's phone buzzes, and holding back his disappointment and annoyance, he fishes his phone out of his pocket. A message from Father flashes across the screen, and Akashi swipes left, keying in his code.

_To: Seijūrō_

_From: Father_

_Remind Tetsuya of the family dinner we're having on Christmas Eve. Don't tell me that you haven't seen her-Kota works for me, not you._

Brief and sharp-as expected of Akashi Masaomi*.

(Akashi hates that.)

He briefly tightens his grip on the phone before immediately relaxing. It wouldn't do anyone good if he destroyed it-in fact, it would probably do more harm-and to _him_. Still, the murderous feeling clawing at his chest doesn't abate for a while.

(If Akashi were a lesser man, he would've waxed fumingly about how Akashi Masaomi doesn't deserve to call Tetsuya by her first name, how he doesn't have the right to see her face, how he shouldn't even be breathing the same air she does because a _bastard like him who nearly destroys his niece without a second thought or a realization as to why he's in the wrong is an absolute monster that even Akashi is disgusted with_ -

But he isn't a lesser man, so instead, all he does is deliberately turn off his phone and carefully place it back into his pocket. If he moves a lot less cautiously than before with it hanging near the edge of the opening as he walks back to his seat, he doesn't admit anything.)

(And when you think about it, Akashi is being extremely hypocritical in where his morals lie right now, but of course, he doesn't know or understand why he's in the wrong yet.)

* * *

Tetsuya stays on the bench. It's an obvious choice that anyone with a brain would've predicted, but of course that doesn't stop Kotarou, the absolute idiot that he is, cries out, "What? She's staying on the bench?"

Surprisingly, it's Eikichi who answers with an even more surprising depth, "Of course. Her misdirection's probably completely or almost all run out, and while that weird disappearing shot was probably quite the curveball, it's not going to stop Yosen forever. Besides, if Seirin depends completely on Kuroko, they don't deserve to win."

"That was quite eloquent," Akashi remarks, raising a slight eyebrow at Eikichi. "It was very surprising."

"Oi!"

"Sei-chan's not wrong," Reo croons, shooting a sickening smile in Akashi's direction. "Then again, he's never wrong!"

"I'm honored to have your approval."

"He's definitely much more prickly than usual," Kotarou stage whispers to Reo, and Akashi resists the urge to rub the bridge of his nose and then bang his head against the metal railing.

It takes a monumental effort.

Back on court, things have gotten quite interesting. _A triangle offense, huh? Seirin, how naïve of you. As if a team like Yosen would be fazed by something like this._

Akashi's gaze wanders back to Tetsuya, who doesn't like any different than usual. Nothing to give away any sort of anxiety or nervousness.

She's always the exception.

The ball is in play, and Akashi only looks back on court as the ball is passed to Himuro Tatsuya.

Much like Satsuki, Akashi is an avid data gatherer. After all, tactical analysis and data go hand in hand-one without the other would result in a useless waste of talent. He has information on every single basketball player in Tokyo-and that is no exaggeration. His information network, of course, extends outside of Japan, but the Winter Cup hardly includes foreign school, and besides-Japanese basketball is far from the weak pitifulness that outsiders seem to believe it to be.

Even if Himuro Tatsuya hasn't played much in this tournament, hasn't displayed much, Akashi still has enough information on him to predict certain things. Still, it doesn't hurt to be cautious, so Akashi refrains from making any such predictions, even as Himuro jumps up with a smooth grace that seems otherworldly.

Kagami jumps up to block, and Akashi blinks.

Himuro's feet are still planted on the ground, and Akashi's eyes widen as he dribbles around Kagami's feet, easily driving past Seirin's ace.

_A perfect fake._

Hyuuga rushes up in front of Himuro even as Kagami lands and whirls around to rush after Himuro. It's a pincer attack that's lined up perfectly, the two should have no problem stopping Himuro, and yet-

Despite the easily coverable distance in between Himuro and the two of them, neither of them can move as Himuro jumps up and the ball leaves his hands, flying through the air and sinking into the net.

He's the antithesis of Daiki-textbook form, polished to the highest quality. There's nothing wild about perfect basketball. Every element of his form, from running to faking to shooting to driving-everything is smooth and well worn-so much so that it's as if he's using misdirection, but instead of directing attention to another object, he's directing attention to his previous form.

Perfect basketball, Bible basketball. Not one wasted movement, not one deviation from textbook formation.

(Akashi wants to play against him-if only to watch that textbook form twist and mutate before his very eyes.)

Akashi doesn't pretend to care about personal matters. Basketball isn't meant to be played through personal grudges. What happens off court is _never_ supposed to come on court, and what happens on court is _never_ supposed to come off court. Of course, even with the strictest of policies, there's are rule breakers-Hanamiya Makoto being one of them, Haizaki Shougo being another, and there are more, so many more that Akashi can't name them all.

But that isn't the case with Kagami Taiga and Himuro Tatsuya. Whatever problems they have-they should never have brought them on court, but it's too late now-

Himuro jumps up, and it's not a fake this time. Kagami seems to come to the same conclusion, jumping up to block, and really, he should've slammed that ball out of the air-

But he _doesn't._

Akashi can't stop himself from leaning forward, eyes wide as the ball passes _through_ Kagami's hand-and this isn't like Tetsuya's invisible shot. No, her ball disappears-but _his_ ball is still solid, still visibly there, and yet Kagami's hand sinks into it.

The ball arcs higher before sinking into the basket.

The whistle blows, and Kagami is subbed off. It's a smart idea, even smarter when Akashi catches sight of the look on his face-wide, disbelieving eyes, slightly pale face, trembling lips-he's in shock. He needs to calm down. It's a weakness on court, to be unable to separate emotions from basketball.

That's what makes Tetsuya so strong.

However, it looks like Himuro Tatsuya and Kagami Taiga aren't the only ones having trouble distinguishing personal matters and the court. Atsushi is arguing with Kiyoshi under the basket, their words clear as crystal to Akashi, but he lets them join the static of the audience as he focuses on the ball.

It lands in Kiyoshi's hand, and Seirin's center spins around Atsushi, jumping up to make a basket. The purple-haired teenager follows to block, and Kiyoshi pulls his arm back, throwing it around Atsushi's arm-

But of course that wouldn't work against him.

Atsushi brings his arm to the side, knocking the ball back. His teeth are gritted in a frustration and a vigor that only Tetsuya has been able to induce in the usually sloth-like boy. Izuki catches the ricocheting ball, and he passes it to an already recovered Kiyoshi who doesn't seem at that surprised at the fact that his double clutch hadn't worked. He's staying calm despite the situation in which many other players would panic in, and Akashi has to admire that.

(Mental strength doesn't seem to be as popular as physical strength these days, and Akashi doesn't quite like that.)

With both Tetsuya and Kagami off court, there's only one choice of action for Kiyoshi-to make this shot. Even if his feet are on the three-pointer line instead of inside. The ball shoots up and arcs over the heads of the frozen players, and the net is displaced as the ball sinks into the basket.

It's a game changer. Even if it isn't recognized as one. The center has made a three against Yosen's entire defense. Those are the first cracks in the Shield of Aegis.

Himuro meets Kiyoshi with another smooth basket, but Seirin can no longer be shaken. If there's one thing about Tetsuya's team, it's that they're incredibly stubborn.

What is that quote? "Birds of a feather flock together?" In this case, it's quite accurate.

It's clear that Seirin has a plan. Otherwise, they wouldn't be doing this. Things like pulling Kiyoshi from the inside to play as the point guard don't happen unless Seirin has a plan, and frustratingly, Akashi doesn't know what it is.

(That'll be the first and last time he'll ever admit that-but even he knows that that's a lie.)

Kiyoshi drives forward, Fukui stumbling a bit to catch up, obviously more than a little bit shaken, but just as suddenly, Seirin's center-turned-point-guard suddenly pulls back, falling into a position to make a three-pointer before jumping. Atsushi lets out a roar of Kiyoshi's name, accelerating forward, leaping up to block Kiyoshi, and Akashi gets it at that point, understands the whole point of the change-up, and he almost wants to laugh at the stupid cleverness of it all.

Kiyoshi jerks the ball down, throwing it off to the side, where Izuki is waiting to catch it. He rushes up to the inside, lining up to make an easy basket, but he's suddenly being blocked on two sides-front by Wei, back by Atsushi.

Izuki tilts his head back, lobbing the basketball up and backwards, past Atsushi's arm and over his shoulder. From behind, Kiyoshi rises up, hand outstretched for the ball rising steadily, directly at his wide palm. Even with fast reflexes and a large body, not even Atsushi can defeat time, and that's all that's needed for Kiyoshi to grab hold of the ball and slam it into the basket.

Akashi has to hand it to Seirin. They aren't as idiotic as he had originally believed. (Sure, their previous games certainly proved that to him, but Tetsuya has a way of clouding Akashi's judgement-for good or for worse.)

Seirin follows the same formation, with Kiyoshi leading as point guard. Again, he leaps up to make a three-pointer, and it's clear that Atsushi isn't planning to jump-until he's launching forward and into the air. The ball bounces in between his legs into Izuki's hands, and this time, he's blocked by Okamura and Wei, who can do nothing when Izuki sends a sharp diagonal pass downwards towards Hyuuga, who grabs hold of it solidly. He makes a high three-pointer, the ball dropping into the basket beautifully.

Four minutes into the third quarter, and the score is 37-28 in Yosen's favor. The buzzer sounds.

_"White, time out!"_

"Who would've thought that Kiyoshi would be that ruthless?" Kotarou muses, breaking the silence that had formed between the four present Rakuzan regulars. "He looks nice, but he sure is tough!"

"You understand what's going on?" Eikichi grumbles, glancing around Akashi to stare at Kotarou, who bobs his head rather violently.

"Yep! Kiyoshi's intimidating them!"

"It's not just that, idiot," Reo replies, ignoring the indignant squawks he provokes from both Eikichi and Kotarou. "With Kiyoshi's first three, he's made them more cautious because it means that there's a chance of it happening again. Combine that with Kiyoshi's Right of Postponement, it's no wonder that Murasakibara is more jittery than before. And it sounds to me like Kiyoshi's been provoking the giant as well-poking the sleeping bear, so to speak."

Kotarou blinks before stating in deadpan, "So Kiyoishi's intimidating them."

"No, he isn't! Didn't you just hear what I just said, you mindless bumbling idiot?"

"Waah! Akashi, Reo-nee's being mean to me!"

"What, you can't fight a woman without asking for a man to help?"

"But you're a man, too!"

"You don't understand a woman's woes!"

Akashi refuses to be dragged into this mess.

The buzzer sounds against as the timeout ends, and fortunately, the two calm themselves down enough as the two teams make their way back onto court. Kagami Taiga steps out, face set into a grim line. _That's a good expression._

The ball exchanges hands a few time before finally landing in Himuro's possession, who's immediately marked by Seirin's ace. It's a well needed rush, trying to determine whether his next move will be a fake or not. Himuro leaps into the air, and Kagami makes to follow him, but in the blink of an eye, Himuro is on the ground, moving around Kagami, who whirls to stop him, feet scrabbling on the ground as the shift in his center of gravity throws him off balance. In another blink of an eye, Himuro is still standing in his original spot, leaping up again to make a real shot and Kagami's back is hunched and his legs and arms are trembling when-

Kagami's arm stretches up and out, slamming the ball out of Himuro's grip before it can even leave it.

Izuki grabs hold of the ball before it can bounce out of bounds, and Kagami grabs the pass, dribbling down court directly towards Atsushi, whose eyes are slanted more so than usual, whose face is set in a way that it has never really been set in. Atsushi steps forward, his figure looming over Kagami's approaching one. For a moment, it seems like Kagami's hesitating, but then he sets his feet and he jumps up, reaching an extraordinary height.

That isn't enough.

Atsushi follows, reaching up with his long arm and slamming the ball out of Kagami's grip.

The ball bounces and rolls to a stop as Kagami slams into the ground.

Akashi hadn't imagined it though-a split second in which Kagami's wrist twitched, shifted as if he was about to do something, but before he could, Atsushi had gotten there.

He wants to know what Kagami would've done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Don't actually know if Akashi's parents were ever named, but I found this on wiki, and we know that that's the most reliable source on the Internet.


	24. Twenty Fourth: Titans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some GOM bashing here because the shit these teenagers say...it's so dang ridiculous. 
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Kuroko sits on the edge of the bench, feet braced on the ground as she uses every ounce of what's left of her willpower to keep from rushing out onto court. She's supposed to be resting, supposed to be observing, and Seirin isn't making it easy for her when all she wants to do is to get out onto court and _play_.

It had felt exhilarating, her first official basket since three years ago, and her left hand is still smarting, phantom pain lacing its way through perfectly healthy bones. It'll never go away, the pain and the hesitance and the all around reluctance to take matters into her own hands, but she's already starting to work hard at making sure that she'll never freeze up, not like that time with Hanamiya Makoto.

Sports are just as much under the psychological realm as the physical realm, and Kuroko of all people _understands_ that.

To a certain extent, Kuroko understands that she's playing with fire. Injuries and mental barriers aside, her misdirection style is entirely dependent on her lack of presence. There's a reason that Seijūrō never bothered to teach her basic dribbling or shooting skills-why she never bothered to try. On court, the one thing that holds the most presence is the ball. Every time she holds onto the ball, all attention will be focused entirely on her.

In that case, misdirection is as useless as Kagami-kun in Japanese Literature.

On the topic of Kagami-kun's usefulness, Kuroko's eyes trail her light's figure as he slowly stands up with the help of Hyuuga-senpai. It had been quite a reckless move on his part, rushing straight at Murasakibara-kun, but she's sure that he must've had some reason. Kagami-kun, after all, has grown, has matured. He is different from the hot-headed, no questions asked basketball idiot she had first met. He's still hot-headed, still doesn't ask many questions, and is still quite the basketball idiot, but now he knows the benefit of keeping a cool head. Of observing and analyzing before acting. And that's why Kuroko has so much faith that he had a plan before going full throttle at Murasakibara-kun.

The ball comes flying through the air from off court, landing in Kiyoshi-senpai's hands. Without a second to breathe, feet are pounding against the floor and then three people are on him-Okamura-san, Fukui-san, and Wei-san.

"They're triple-teaming Kioyshi?"

Despite most of their players gathering on Kiyoshi-senpai's side, Yosen's defense is still as tight as ever. In Kiyoshi's moment of hesitation, eyes darting around court looking for a way out of his current predicament, Okamura-san has stolen the ball, hitting it out of Kiyoshi-senpai's hand. As the center reels back, Fukui-san takes advantage of his shock, rushign towards the ball and picking it up, launching it back across court in a fast break.

Himuro-san, who had been guarding Hyuuga-senpai, is already far ahead of everyone else, grabbing hold of the quick pass.

"You're not going anywhere, Himuro!" Kagami-kun rushes ahead, managing to cut off Himuro-san just as he reaches the three-pointe rline.

Kuroko wonders when "Tatsuya" change to "Himuro." (Maybe when he asked her to throw away the ring looped around his neck.)

Himuro-san's muscles tense as he shifts backward slightly, raising the ball to chest level. Kagami-kun charges forward as Himuro-san leaps up, and maybe he would've been able to pull off the miracle stopper he had before if he hadn't been charging forward without noticing his surroundings.

Instead, his feet lands on a few droplets of sweat, and he slips.

Kagami-kun manages to catch himself just in time to keep from sprawling in a rather undignified manner across the floor, but by then Himuro-san has already reached the apex of his jump. While Kuroko does indeed have faith in Kagami-kun, she also knows his limits-probably better than he does, which is why Kagami-kun still jumps up with that single-minded stubbornness, arm stretched out in hopes of reaching in time.

He doesn't, and the ball is released as Kagami-kun continues to rise. Kuroko is just about to concede the point to Yosen when her eyes suddenly catch on something so minuscule that she's amazed that she even managed to see it, but she _does_. The tip of Kagami-kun's finger just barely manages to tap the underside of the ball-just enough to disrupt the ball's arc and rebounding off of the rim.

So maybe it isn't Yosen's point. (Maybe she should start believing in all the intimidating warnings she hands out like pieces of candy.)

Kagami-kun gains possession of the rebound, having recovered from the sweat and the shock of managing to stop Himuro-san's shot. There are times when she can read him completely, and times when he's as impenetrable as Seijūrō. The latter is now, but Kuroko would like to think that Kagami-kun has reached an epiphany, with the way his eyes widen and he stiffens, leaving an opening that Himuro-san could've exploited if he hadn't been just as shocked. Feinting to the left, Kagami-kun manages to shoot a pass under Himuro-san's right arm with Kiyoshi-senpai catching the ball.

With a sense of déjà vu, Kiyoshi-senpai is immediately set upon by the three Yosen players, all with rather determined looks on their faces. Himuro-san's missed shot must've sparked something in them.

Still, Kiyoshi-senpai isn't the type to fall for the same trap twice.

"Kiyoshi!" Izuki-senpai calls from a gap in between two of the blockers, raising his arms in the universal sign for a pass. Kiyoshi-senpai manages to wrangle the ball around, shooting it out from between the Yosen players to Izuki-senpai. No one else is open. There's no other choice.

The point guard bends his knees, jumping up with the ball and releasing it at his apex. It hits the rim of the basket, soaring up and out, where Murasakibara-kun, Mitobe-senpai, and Kagami-kun stand on the inside, waiting for the rebound.

"You're rushing," Murasakibara-kun calls in his signature lazy tone, and Kuroko shifts slightly in her seat, just _itching_ to get back out on court. His arms are already up, feet barely leaving the ground because with that height, he truly doesn't have to _try_ to get the ball. "That's mine."

But of course there would be people who wouldn't like that.

Kiyoshi-senpai's arm comes up from behind, reaching in between Murasakibara-kun's outstretched arms and grabbing hold of the ball with a single, large hand, slamming the ball into a putback dunk.

The stadium erupts into cheer, but even over the din, Kuroko can hear Murasakibara-kun's bone chilling growl of, _"Kiyoshi."_

A shiver runs down her spine, and it's only intensified when Kiyoshi-senpai is making his way back to his position when, as he passes by Seirin's bench, his knee twitches and he suddenly begins to fall. As if in slow motion, Kuroko's eyes trace the way his body tips forward, losing balance, before locking into his knee, the culprit of it all. Before she even understands what she's doing, she's up off the bench and rushing forward, left arm wrapping around his chest and ignoring the way pain registers in her mind as her wrist is jostled. Made up pain hardly matters in the face of Kioyshi-senpai's limp figure hung over her arm, and she supports him to the best of her ability. "Senpai!"

"Kiyoshi!"

"Kiyoshi-senpai!"

Footsteps sound closer, and she's sure that her teammates are surrounding them as Kuroko slowly lowers Kiyoshi-senpai onto the ground, making sure to straighten out his legs. The excitement from the epic play earlier has died down in light of the current predicament, and the referee blows the whistle.

_"Referee time out!"_

Kioyshi-senpai is breathing heavily, and she lightly runs her fingers over his legs, knowing that her face is drawn tighter than it usually is, not particularly caring either way. His skin is warm and sweaty under her hand, as it should be considering the fact that he's been playing for the entire game, but she can't find anything abnormal. (Then again, she's no doctor.)

"Sorry, Kuroko." Kiyoshi-senpai's voice is slightly weary, but he's pushing hard for a comforting, confident tone. "I just tripped and fell dramatically. Don't worry about me." He carefully braces a hand against the ground, shaking off her own as he pushes himself up. For a moment, his knee trembles, but he manages to stand up straight without incident. Kuroko stays kneeling, staring up at him with a slight frown playing about her lips.

"Teppei, are you really-"

Aida-san cuts off as Kiyoshi-senpai walks forward, lightly patting her head. "I'm fine. Let me play. Please. We finally rose this far. I don't want to interrupt this flow. I can keep playing. Let's all win together!"

 _Kiyoshi-senpai is cruel_ , Kuroko decides, slowly getting up. Still, her heart isn't beating as fast, and she feels much more relaxed than before. The tense atmosphere has slowly seeped away, and Aida-san slowly nods in confirmation.

The players make their way back onto court, some of them (Hyuuga-senpai), lightly ribbing Kiyoshi-senpai about worrying them. Kuroko's eyes are focused on Kiyohsi-senpai's wrapped knee. She can't really tell if there's something wrong.

She has to let it go for now.

Whether for good or for bad, Kiyoshi-senpai's collapse certainly impacts team morale. Hyuuga-senpai manages to steal the first pass Fukui-san makes, hitting it to Kiyohsi-senpai who dribbles down court. Once again, he's immediately triple teamed, but he throws the ball to the side, straight into Izuki-senpai's hands without either of them having to communicate.

Three of them come in from all sides-Izuki-senpai, Mitobe-senpai, and Kagami-kun, all surrounding Murasakibara-kun who's still under the basket.

"A three man attack?"

"What?" Murasakibara-kun raises his head slightly, staring down his nose from his impressive height. "You think you can take me? I'll crush you all at once."

Without a break in his step, Izuki-senpai bounce passes the ball backward, where Kiyoshi-senpai has broken free of his marks and catches the ball. His rhythm and form are off, however, and Kuroko knows before he releases that the ball won't make it. It bounces off the rim, and Izuki-senpai is suddenly blocking Murasakibara-kun, trying his hardest to push the giant back, to keep him away from the rebound. Murasakibara-kun reaches up with his arm. Kagami-kun grabs it an inch away from Murasakibara-kun's hand, and in another miracle, makes another putback dunk.

"He made it!"

"We're only five points behind now!"

Her teammates burst into cheers, shouting encouragements and praises into the air, but Kuroko's eyes are fixed on Murasakibara-kun. A shiver runs down her spine again, and the uneasiness only grows at the sight of his expression. His eyes, as always, are slanted, but they're fixed on a single point on the ground. Just by looking at him, it's as if the world has gone mute, everything slowed down and covered in a blanket of static.

_This isn't good. This isn't good. Not at all._

His hand curls at the side of his leg, and dread is like a bucket of ice water that splashes all over Kuroko. His lazy drawl has never sounded so menacing as it sounds loudly over the cacophony, "Ahh, I can't take it anymore. It's so displeasing, I could puke. Watching you squirm. I'll crush all of you."

* * *

If Kuroko has a lack of presence, Murasakibara-kun is the opposite. Although to be fair, that's not saying much. Considering Kuroko's distinct lack of...well, _presence_ , any single person could be considered the opposite of her in terms of existence. Out of all the Miracles, though, she has always seen Murasakibar-kun as the one with a monstrous presence. They each have their own, of course: Seijūrō with his intimidating aura, Kise-kun with his status as a model, Midorima-kun with his...strange habits, and Aomine-kun being Aomine-kun.

Murasakibara-kun, through nothing more than his sheer size, draws eyes like no other.

And right now, with the way his anger is almost a palpable, tangible thing-she's even more aware of him than ever before.

"Murasakibara's on offense?"

"I thought his specialty was defense."

Kuroko finds herself responding rather absentmindedly, unable to tear her eyes away from the sight of her ex-teammate's ungodly temperament, "Murasakibara-kun is one of the more combative members of the Generation of Miracle. While he has little interest in basketball and is lazy, he's actually better at offense. In games like this that incur his wrath, he's scored a record hundred points in a single game."

"A hundred? Fukuda-kun spits from the other side of the bench, incredulity saturating his tone.

Kuroko nods in affirmation. _That's what makes him truly terrifying-and that's what makes the Generation of Miracles truly terrifying._

"I'll show you." Murasakibara-kun's voice hasn't gotten any louder, but its intensity manages to fill the space, a beast in its own right. He has stepped out from inside, and is now standing on the center line. "I'll show you such unfair play, it'll make your pretty words meaningless!"

The ball is in play, and Murasakibara-kun is immediately covered by Mitobe-senpai, Kiyoshi-senpai, and Hyuuga-senpai.

"We don't expect to stop you with one," Kiyoshi-senpai grunts.

"Really? So, what?" Murasakibara-kun backs up, every step causing the three Seirin players who are trying their hardest to keep him back to slam into his broad figure, a sickening sound that reminds Kuroko of far too dark days. Fukui-san dodges around Izuki-senpai, passing the ball up. Murasakibara-kun easily grabs hold of it, jumping up again and twisting the moment he lands on the ground. His hands slam down, grabbing onto the rim of the basket in a powerful dunk that knocks Mitobe-senpai, Kiyoshi-senpai, and Hyuuga-senpai onto the ground.

"The hammer of destruction: Thor's Hammer."

He hangs for a moment before dropping down, feet thumping onto the ground painfully near the three players' feet.

"Oh, sorry." Murasakibara-kun doesn't sound sorry at all, glancing back down at Kiyoshi-senpai with eyes that remind Kuoko a little too much of Hanamiya-san for comfort. "I didn't think that you'd be knocked down so easily."

Kiyoshi-senpai grits his teeth, standing up. Mitobe-senpai and Hyuuga-senpai push themselves up as well, running down court. "We're not done yet!"

He sends the ball to Izuki-senpai, who dribbles down court in a fast break. Counterattacks won't work against Murasakibara-kun, no matter if he's under the basket or not. A shadow looms over Izuki-senpai; Murasakibara-kun, having easily caught up, easily overtakes the point guard, blocking his path. Izuki-senpai jerks back, standing in place as he continues to bounce the ball.

"Izuki!"

The ball flies through the air towards Kiyoshi-senpai, who immediately grabs hold of it. This time, Fukui-san is the only one on Kiyoshi-senpai.

"They stopped triple-teaming him?"

"I'll stop you myself," Murasakibara-kun declares, standing before the net. "Come on!"

Kiyoshi-senpai hesitates for a split second before driving forward, bypassing Fukui-san and heading directly at Murasakibara-kun. He jumps up a step away, and Murasakibara-kun immediately follows.

"He jumped for a block!"

Izuki-senpai rushes up from the side, running around the two in the air.

"But Kiyoshi-senpai's true skill is his ability to make passes with his Right of Postponement!"

_And what about Murasakibara-kun?_

Kioyhsi-senpai turns his hand in midair, fingers splayed over the ball, wrist arced up high. Izuki-senpai holds his hands out for the ball, but before Kiyohsi-senpai can release, Murasakibara-kun's arm comes in from the opposite side, whacking the ball out of Kiyoshi-senpai's hands.

"I'm tired of that strategy."

"He stopped it?" Tsuchida-senpai gasps, leaning forward.

"Kiyoshi the point guard has been defeated," Furihata-kun groans.

Kiyoshi-senpai lands, eyes fixed on the ground, and the ball bounces past him, quickly picked up by Fukui-san. Murasakibara-kun follows, the two players racing down court. Fukui-san tosses the ball up, and Murasakibara-kun moves to score an alley oop when Kagami-kun appears in a flash (Kuroko's eyes widen- _she didn't see him run across court_ ), hand pushing back. "No, you don't, Murasakibara!"

"Kagami!"

Without even acknowledging his presence, Murasakibara-kun pushe sforward with all his strength, arms coming down and swatting Kagami's arm away as if it's nothing more than a pesky fly. The ball is pushed through the hoop, and Kagami-kun is thrown back, slamming into the padded pole that holds the backboard.

Kuroko can only stare as the metal supporting begins to wobble, creaking eerily. _Murasakibara-kun..._

He lands heavily. "Basketball is a contest of shortcomings. The hoop is three meters in the air. You can't call that fair. The game favors the tall. That's the foundation of this shitty sport. What's so fun about this?"

The beam connecting the backboard to the pole tips forward, and a sound reminiscent of a bullet released from a shotgun sounds as the backboard begins to fall. Kuroko automatically springs up, the air leaving her lungs in a huge rush because _Kagami-kun had been sitting there._

The plastic of the backboard is splintered and cracking, but Kagmai-kun stands safely to the side-shocked and pale, just like everyone else, but he's safe. He's not hurt.

Kuroko inhales deeply, closing her eyes, suddenly fully conscious of the plastic in _her_ eye.

"To me, all ideals are nothing but trash." Murasakibara-kun's voice is dead, loud in the silence that results after the destruction of the hoop.

"He...broke the hoop?"

"You're kidding."

"That's not a joke," Hyuuga-senpai breathes, eyes still stuck on the scene.

"That surprised me, too," Himuro-san gasps.

"Honestly, I've never been more glad he's on our side," Fukui-san murmurs, Okamura-san nodding dumbly in agreement.

And Kuroko-Kuroko's just relieved that Kagami-kun won't be suffering the way she had (and maybe still is).

The whistle blows. _"D-Due to the broken hoop, the game will be put on hold until it can be replaced!"_

Kuroko takes a shuddering breath before opening her eyes. It looks like they'll have to wait a little while.

Surprisingly, it doesn't take too long. They manage to get a new hoop replaced as the players rest in their locker rooms. Seirin spends most of it in silence. Aida-san had attempted to talk some strategy, since this is pretty much a free time-out, but when no one responded, not even Kuroko, she had finally given up, instead deciding to sit on the bench, fiddling with her clipboard.

Kuroko feels slightly bad for the coach, but right now, Seirin needs rest more than they need strategizing. Murasakibara-kun had just dealt quite the psychological blow-and not just to Kagami-kun. Kuroko slants her eyes towards Kiyoshi-senpai, who's sitting at the end of the bench, hunching his back and resting his forearms on his thighs. Her team had played against Kiyoshi-senpai in middle school. _She_ hadn't played. By that time, the Generation of Miracles had grown to the point where none of them _needed_ her passes. Nor had they _wanted_ them. Instead, she sat on the bench and watched from the sidelines as, once again, they slaughtered a team, shattering hopes and dreams without a single thought (because they didn't see what they were- _are_ -doing as wrong).

She remembers, though, Kiyoshi-senpai. She remembers how had played, how had broken down, and what Murasakibara-kun had said to him. And to this day, she still harbors that guilt, that little kernel of _I'm so, so sorry_ that she wishes she has enough courage to say aloud, directly to his face-

But she _can't_.

Not yet.

So instead, she watches him in agony (both him and her) until they're called back out, and the game continues.

Right out of the gate, Murasakibara-kun plays with as much force as he could possibly give. The score is 41-32 in Yosen's favor-a nine point difference almost five minutes into the third quarter. Kiyoshi-senpai's attempt to score is knocked out of the way, and when the ball is taken all the way to the other side of the court, Murasakibara-kun is already there, grabbing hold of the ball and slamming the ball into the basket with another Thor's Hammer.

His dunks are powerful, are fast, driven by the force with which he jumps and whirls around in the air. Almost impossible to defeat.

The ball is thrown in, and Izuki-senpai dribbles it to the other side. He passes it to Hyuuga-senpai, who makes for a three. It bounces off the rim, and Kiyoshi-senpai is running up behind Wei-san and Okamura-san, his hand reaching up. The fact that he's only using one is widening his wingspan, making sure that he has more of a reach. It's something that Kiyoshi-senpai has been training so hard to do, something that he's worked a million and more times to master.

And yet, Murasakibara-kun's hand is reaching up behind Kiyoshi-senpai, his voice murmuring a casual, "Is this how you do it?"

And without even having to pour the sweat, blood, and tears that Kiyoshi-senpai had, the Miracle grabs hold of the ball before Kiyoshi-senpai can even brush it.

Murasakibara-kun lands, dribbling the ball down court, easily brushing roughly past Izuki-senpai and Hyuuga-senpai's attempts at guarding him.

"You can't be serious!" Kagami-kun shouts, coming in from the right.

"No, you don't!" Kiyoshi-senpai drops in from the left, and even though determination leaks from every pore, Kuroko can already see that he's starting to break apart, piece by piece.

All three of them jump up at the same time, and through two pairs of hands, Murasakibara-kun slams the ball into the hoop, blowing the the two of them away.

"Kagami!"

"Kiyoshi!"

Kuroko's heart leaps to her throat as she watches Kagami-kun get up-but Kiyoshi-senpai is still on the ground, and he's not moving.

_He's not moving._

"Kiyoshi-senpai!"

"Teppei!" Aida-san screeches, jumping up out of her seat.

Kiyoshi-senpai slowly drags his hands and knees so that they're under him, and he's breathing too heavily, shaking too much. Even still... "It's not over yet. Not...yet."

Kuroko can only watch in muted horror as Murasakibara-kun considers Kiyoshi-senpai for a moment (she knows that, she recognize it- _she's terrified_ ) before walking over to him, bending down and grabbing his wrist, pulling him up by that one arm. Kiyoshi-senpai dangles precariously in Murasakibara-kun's grip, legs slowly sweeping the floor, and Kuroko can't breathe. "This is reality. Unable to do anything, you ran out of strength. If you're benched, you will die completely inside. No matter how you struggle, Seirin will lose. How do you feel? You weren't able to protect anything again, but...well, did you have fun playing basketball?"

_Cruel. So cruel that even I can't believe that Murasakibara Atsushi isn't fully aware of just how much those words cut into us-and into him._

Hyuuga-senpai rushes up, eyes wide, mouth wider. "Murasakibara, what do you think you're doing?"

"I just helped him up," Murasakibara-kun replies flippantly, turning around and, with an imperious air, shoving Kiyohsi-senpai unceremoniously towards Hyuuga-senpai.

"Kiyoshi!"

The buzzer sounds, and Kuroko tears her eyes away from Hyuuga-senpai, who's slowly supporting a limp Kiyohsi-senpai back to the bench. Aida-san is standing, grim faced, and Kuroko knows what she did. (She agrees wholeheartedly.)

_"Seirin, member change!"_

Kuroko takes a wobbly step forward, takes a deep breath, then takes a firmer one. The two are approaching her even faster. "Kiyoshi-senpai."

He doesn't look her in the eye, not even once, as he slowly shuffles forward, leg shuddering with the effort of holding him up. He rests a heavy hand on her shoulder and leans in, until she can feel his breath on her ear. "Sorry. The rest is up to you."

There's nothing happy in his voice, nothing of the cheery, good-natured senpai that had shown her her mistakes, that had supported her and the team, that had interested her ever since she first saw him in her third year of middle school. There's nothing, and that breaks her heart.

His hand tightens on her shoulder, squeezing painfully, but she doesn't make a sound. "Please...please win."

The coppery tang of blood hits her nose, and she turns her head sharply ( _blood, tears, sweat, antiseptics_ ). His teeth are biting on his bottom lip, so hard that a thin trail of blood leaks its way down his chin. She closes her eyes.

"Murasakibara, you bastard!" Kagami-kun growls, and Kiyoshi-senpai finally lets go of Kuroko's shoulder, shuffling onwards.

"Ahh?" Murasakibara-kun drawls. "What are you so mad about?"

Kuroko takes a deep breath. _A lot of things. So many that I can't even count them._ "You said if we benched Kiyoshi-senpai, Seirin would lose, no matter how we struggled." Kuroko opens her eyes, walking deliberately towards her ex-teammate. She stops next to Kagami-kun.

"Yeah," Murasakibara-kun replies without a hint of remorse or self-awareness, which only makes Kuroko...

 _Angrier_.

Kuroko takes another deep breath, forces herself to calm down. Carefully readjusts the sweatband on her wrist. "The game isn't over yet." Readjusts it again. "Besides, even if he's not on the court, his will is with us." She raises her head, and her eyes are holding every ounce of fury that she could possibly convey because ex-teammate or not, aware or not, child or not, Murasakibara Atsushi cannot continue to live without fully understanding that _what he is doing is completely and utterly_ wrong. "I will beat you in his place!"

He stares down at her, and nothing flickers across his face, but she doesn't care. She doesn't care because whether he wants to or not, whether he believes it or not, she _will_ make him understand, and she _will_ make him repent. "Beat me? If you're being serious, I'll crush you. Even you, Kuro-chin."

She raises her chin, looks him in the eye. She's always been the one who understands him the best, and, despite his childishness, Murasakibara-kun has always been able to read her just as well, if not better, than Aomine-kun. (No one can beat Seijūrō, but that's okay because she can read him just as well as he can read her.) There's no reason for him to not be able to understand her now. "I'll never lose to someone like you who denies the efforts of others!"

His eyebrows furrow, his lips peel back from his teeth. "I keep telling you, your pretty words are so annoying, Kuro-chin."

She takes another deep breath, turns around. "My words aren't just _pretty_ , Murasakibara-kun. For me, they will never be just _pretty_." Her eyes catch on Kiyoshi-senpai, who's sitting on the bench, a towel draped over his head, his knee being re-taped. He still isn't looking anyone in the eye. "I _will_ beat you."

He doesn't say anything back, but Kuroko's sure that Murasakibara-kun's gaze is burning into her back as she makes her way back into position.

_Seirin will win._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won't be updating until around next Sunday since I don't have access to a computer. Happy holidays!


	25. Twenty Fifth:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Enjoy this chapter that's, like, 10 minutes of the anime...
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

It's a never ending cesspit of depression and helplessness that Kiyoshi is trapped in, and he's trying his very hardest to keep his head above the water, but that's kind of hard when twenty pound weights are tied to his ankles.

He's vaguely aware of the concerned teammates that flutter around him as he tries his hardest to keep the shivers that wrack his body at bay, but how could he possibly comfort them when he can't even comfort himself?

(He can, he's done it before, and that traitorous little voice in the back of his mind is whispering _you don't want to, because you_ like _this_. He tries his hardest to ignore that as well, and he's a little more successful in this case.)

It takes a monumental effort for Kiyoshi to raise his head a fraction in order to watch the game-the game that _he_ abandoned, pulsing knee injury or not, crippling pain or not, cold fear and dread pooled in the bottom of his stomach or not. (He doesn't want to play anymore, it's not _fun_ anymore, and he wants to cry.)

Kuroko sends another wave of sadness and guilty and negativity through him. Not for the first time, he notes her delicate frame-spindly arms and legs that don't have the muscles they should have considering how long and how hard and how _well_ she's been playing basketball, pale, milky white skin covering hands that were covered in purple and black bruises during the time she had been perfecting Ignite Pass Kai and regaining her old style, _owning_ her new one, dwarfed by the looming Yosen players who come at her with no hesitation-

Because Kuroko is just that _incredible._

Kiyoshi remembers the first time he had heard Kuroko Tetsuya's name. It had popped up right before basketball practice a couple weeks after the first day of school of his third and last year of junior high, when his teammates were changing into practice clothes. Taichi had been laughing with one of the new recruits, a first year with black hair cut in a bowl cut named Yuuki Lee. A name had been brought up that Kiyoshi was unfamiliar with, and the words that followed were quite intriguing.

"So I thought it was a joke, you know, because-well, a girl? Playing basketball? It was probably some wishful thinking on his part-I mean, Kuroko Tetsuya is a guy's name, right?"

"I've heard those rumors too! They say Teiko's got these crazy passes, but even weirder is that they only happen when there are _four_ players on court instead of _five_. And what's even weirder than all of _that_ is that they haven't been playing like this until their first practice match of this year!"

Kiyoshi perked up slightly at the mention of Teiko, which had built quite the reputation in just a year of emerging as a dark horse in the junior high basketball circuits. He had hear many monikers circling around, including some that were assigned to _him_ and some of his basketball acquaintances-rather ridiculous, if anyone bothered to ask him, but nobody did, so he just suffered under the heavy weight of "Iron Heart" and played basketball. "What's this about?"

Taichi turned towards Kiyoshi, who thought he would answer his question. Instead, Taichi continued to stare at Kiyoshi, a flabbergasted expression painted across his face. After a minute passed by without anyone saying anything (Yuuki was looking increasingly uncomfortable), Kiyoshi lightly waved his fingers in front of Taichi's face, which seemed to snap him out of whatever trance he had just been in. "Wait a minute. You're _Kiyoshi Teppei_."

Kiyoshi raised an eyebrow, slightly confused and rightfully offended. "I would hope so. Otherwise, I've been impersonating someone else my entire life."

"You're _Kiyoshi Teppei_!" Taichi repeated, this time in a louder, higher pitched voice. The sounds of people changing slowly began to taper off as other teammates migrated closer to the pair, wondering what had Taichi so excited this time (sadly, this wasn't the first time he went full on freak mode). "You're one of the Crownless Generals!"

Kiyoshi frowned. Taichi, much like any good friend, found the idea of Kiyoshi becoming a nationally recognized basketball figure to be utterly hilarious, and, just like any good friend, constantly rubbed the title into Kiyoshi's face any chance he got. However, Taichi had never sounded so... _sincere_ , and genuinely _shocked_ when saying it. "And this matters because..."

It was Taichi's turn to frown. He reached up and whacked Kiyoshi's shoulder. "Dude, that means you know a lot about the Generation of Miracles, right?"

Kiyoshi blinked. "No, not really."

"Do you know who Kuroko Tetsuya is?"

(Just like any good friend, Taichi didn't listen to Kiyoshi much.)

"Just because the media grouped me with four other guys and wrote up a sob story for us, it does _not_ mean that I am personally aware of the root cause of it all. We didn't play Teiko last year-remember, we lost right before finals."

"Aww." And just like that, Taichi deflated, looking for all the world like a kicked puppy. He even pouted, kicking at the ground as he fiddled with the jersey in his hands. "I just thought that maybe you'd know her."

"Her?"

Yuuki was the one who exploded this time, looking as excited and bubbly as a dog presenting a ball to its owner. "You haven't heard? There are rumors going around the basketball circuit that there's a _girl_ playing in the _boys_ ' brackets-and get this, she's playing as a first stringer on _Teiko_. Crazy, right?"

Kiyoshi glanced at Taichi, who had sunk even further into depression as Yuuki had explained just why he was so excited. "And she must be this Kuroko Tetsuya you're so excited about?"

Taichi nodded, looking a bit more energized than before. "Yeah. There are theories all across Japan about why or how she got onto the team. Some are pretty ridiculous."

"I read one yesterday night," called one of the spectators. "This troll was going on and on about how aliens had invaded the Earth about a hundred years ago, which is why toe socks were ever a fad, and they had taken over the minds of the basketball association just to let her join the team because she was their hive queen or something along those lines."

"Pretty ridiculous," Taichi repeated, rolling his eyes. "Honestly, she probably found some loophole in the rules and exploited it. Apparently, she's pretty smart. Then again, if the rumors are true and she's playing on Teiko's team, then she's _gotta_ be smart."

"Or she's real strong," another teammate chimed in, laughter bubbling up. "Like Ronda Rousey!"

That comment caused a wave of laughter to spread across the locker room, leaving Kiyoshi to wonder what was so funny (later that night, when he found out who Ronda Rousey was...well, he still didn't laugh, but he finally understood the joke).

"Other than the fact that she's a girl..." Kiyoshi attempted to steer the conversation back on track during a lull in the uproar, "Why do you seem so excited about Kuroko Tetsuya?"

Taichi snorted, finally pulling his jersey on. "Wow, you really don't care about intelligence gathering, don't you? Pretty surprising, but then again, not really. Do you at least know about Teiko's players?"

"Yeah," Kiyoshi affirmed, not really understanding the relevance of that piece of information.

"Well, last year, Teiko's play style was pretty standard you know? Monstrous, yeah, but there wasn't anything too special or noteworthy. Except, hold on. Halfway through the school year, some interesting things started happening. Instead of sending out the regular five players, Teiko would send out four, and when questioned, there was always the same response-that someone was _already_ on the court. And it sounds pretty ridiculous, right? There were obviously only four Teiko jerseys on court-what did they mean, there were five people? Except, there _were_. The ball would be stopped in midair and then if you blinked, you would see someone holding it, dribbling it down court, making a basket-and then you blink again, and the person is gone. Teiko had a _phantom_ on their team."

Kiyoshi nodded slowly. He had heard of that-in fact, it was the reason why he was so interested in Teiko in the first place. Disappearing players-now, _that_ was something he could get behind.

"Obviously, people didn't believe the first few people who claimed that that had happened. After all, no one believes in ghosts. But then more people started speaking up. More people began to tell about what they had seen with their very own eyes. And eventually, people began to believe it- _especially_ when Teiko's opponents would be collapsing left and right without a single reason why, the ball being carried by a basketball player who could appear and disappear at will. Only a fool wouldn't believe what's before their very eyes."

"And so Kuroko Tetsuya is this phantom?"

Taichi dramatically raised his arm and jabbed his finger toward Kiyoshi, a triumphant look in his eyes. " _Exactly_. She was hard to see in the beginning, but people began looking for her, and even if you're a phantom, it's pretty hard to hide when an entire nation is trying to find you. I didn't believe it at first-I thought people were joking. I mean, basketball players are still horny teenagers, there's nothing wrong there. But then I went to Teiko's final last year-you remember that? None of you guys wanted to go because you were all crying, but I wanted to see if I could find the phantom. Maybe I wanted to find out of she really was a girl-who knows? But I was watching Teiko's game, and they had five first stringers out on court. No invisible phantom running amok. Then halftime came, and I was about to leave-nothing interesting was happening, maybe the rumors about the phantom were fake too. But the third quarter started, and _four_ people walked onto court. I strained my eyes, but I just couldn't catch sight of the fifth person. Four minutes in, and I still hadn't seen any sign of a phantom. Then the ball was stopped when no one was even near it, and I could _see_ her. It was a _girl_."

Taichi took in a deep breath, face slightly red from so many words coming out of his mouth all at once. He was smiling, though. "Kuroko Tetsuya is a girl playing on a boys' team-isn't that crazy awesome?"

"If she's pretty!" a teammate called out, followed by another round of laughter. "But obviously that's just a lie. Kuroko Tetsuya's probably just some guy who looks way too much like a girl."

Taichi's smile faded. "You don't believe it?"

"Of course not! Girls can't play with boys. There's a reason why sports are split by gender in the first place. Girls are biologically weaker than us. There's no way that a girl would be playing for Teiko." The guy burst into laughter, and they had all slowly trickled out, setting the conversation to the back of their minds.

The joke was on them, though. The people who didn't believe in the rumors. Later that year, an official statement was released by the junior high national basketball association. Kuroko Tetsuya was a girl who played as a first stringer on Teiko Junior High's boys' basketball team-through completely legal means.

Taichi, surprisingly petty for such an easy-going guy, ended up rubbing it into those teammates' noses for weeks.

(Eventually, none of them cared all that much for the Generation of Miracles-after that match, none of them had much of a care for anything, really.)

And that's the amazing thing about Kuroko Tetsuya. Even before anyone had known for sure that she truly existed, she had been inspiring people.

(If Kiyoshi thinks harder about it, she had even inspired him.)

So it hurts even more, that she's the one who's supporting him. That she's the one getting angry on his behalf, that she's the one working so hard on his behalf, that she's the one _playing_ on his behalf. It hurts because he can see the way her left wrist twitches just before she executes a Phantom Shot, the way she instinctively shields her eyes when during an especially chaotic point-for all the walls she had broken down, their remnants are still hampering her.

It hurts because she's the one protecting him when she's the one who's hurting the most.

The least he could do in return is to watch her lead Seirin to victory.

Kiyoshi slowly straightens as Yosen's number eleven rushes up to Kuroko, shouting, "I'll stop you!"

She doesn't falter, instead taking another step and then disappearing. A blink later, she reappears, skimming past number eleven and pushing onwards. Murasakibara steps in front of her, arms widespread, feet braced against the ground. She draws up in front of him, shifting her grip on the ball, and her wrist flinches before driving forward, pushing the ball up and past the hand Murasakibara had been bringing down from his lofty height. His eyes widen, realization hitting him like a truck.

"Atsushi, no! It's a pass!"

The ball arcs down in front of the hoop, having cleared Murasakibara's fingers by a gaping margin. Kagami comes up from behind Murasakibara, arm stretching out and jamming the ball into the basket. He lets go, dropping down onto the ground with a resounding thump.

"I can't break it after all," Kagami remarks, a slight pout lining the tone of his voice.

"Bastard..." Murasakibara growls through gritted teeth.

"All right!" Koganei cheers from beside Kiyoshi, and he can only smile slightly in response.

Murasakibara lets out a sigh before slowly walking forward. "You're all about working together, aren't you? But I told you. Everything is trash before me."

His words echo that of another person's, who has hurt Kiyoshi and Seirin more than he could ever have imagined, and Kiyoshi squeezes his eyes shut as another wave threatens to bring him down when suddenly-

A loud gasp from Riko draws his head up and his eyes open.

Ice slips down his spine. (Fire burns in his heart.)

Kuroko is marking Murasakibara, her tiny frame pushing up against his monstrous one, the sight comical if not for the menacing look on his face and the way her muscles shake from exertion. "Of course we're working together. Basketball is a _team_ sport. However, I told you. Murasakibara-kun, I will beat you."

Her head rests against his hip, and it's clear that even Murasakibara is reluctant about this. "If you keep playing around, even you'll get hurt, Kuro-chin."

"I'm not playing around," she replies sharply, frostily. "I'm going to stop you, Murasakibara-kun."

"It's like she's not even there!" number five shouts, tossing the ball over Izuki's head towards Murasakibara. "Make the shot, Atsushi!"

Muraskaibara grabs hold of it, whirling around. Kiyoshi's eye have been trained to follow movement, but presented two choices, he will always follow the more dynamic (it's a survival instinct, one that doesn't always help one _survive_ all that well). And so he's just as surprised when his eyes land on the spot Kuroko had beeen.

 _Had_ because she's no longer there anymore.

"Atsushi!"

Himuro's warning comes a moment too late as Murasakibara raises his arms in an attempt to take advantage of the situation-except his elbow catches on something to the side, and Kuroko, who had been blocked from Kiyoshi's sight previously by Murasakibara's huge girth, is now falling, landing on her back.

The whistle blows. _"Charging, white number nine! Seirin ball!"_

"Are you okay?" Kagami comes up to Kuroko, holding out a hand. She nods, accepting and letting him pull her up.

"Thank you."

It was reckless. Stupid and reckless and something so Kagami-like that it takes a moment for Kiyoshi to process the fact that, yes, indeed, Kuroko had just intentionally put herself in danger's path just to get a penalty-and maybe Kagami is a bad influence on her after all.

Still, it doesn't seem like she regrets it. With Kagami's help, Kuroko is standing straight. "Basketball's not so simple that you can win just by being big, Murasakibara-kun."

Murasakibara grits his teeth, eyes narrowing into slits. "You've done it now."

Four minutes and thirty seconds left in the third quarter, and the score is 45-34 in Yosen's favor.

Izuki starts with the ball, tossing it in to Hyuuga, who's immediately blocked by number four. Hyuuga pauses before shifting into a familiar position and sliding back into a Barrier Jumper. Number four jumps up, but the ball clears his fingers, arcing towards the net. It sinks neatly into the net, as clean as ever.

Hyuuga snorts, glaring at Yosen's players, some of whom look more than a little shocked. "Kuroko's not the only one, you know! I want to throw a wrench in your plans, too! Let's go! New formation!"

Full court man-to-man defense. Kiyoshi remembers practicing it until it was perfect with his team. Now, he's not even using it on court.

Yosen takes note of the new strategy, breaking down its cause and effect before quickly devising a unanimous strategy. It's amazing to watch, Kiyoshi realizes dazedly. Number eleven tosses the ball to number five, who had broken past Izuki's guard with a sudden burst of speed.

"Run! If you stop moving, they'll jump on you!"

Feet pound across court as Murasakibara raises his hands, the ball leaving number five's hands in a straight path for Murasakibara. It's a futile endeavor, though. Even though Kuroko had been on the opposite side of the court before, she certainly isn't now.

Full court man-to-man defense with continuously shifting marks. A strategy that fully optimizes Kuroko's abilities, giving her the highest chance of stealing. It's the stealth full court man-to-man defense.

The ball never touches Murasakibar's fingers as Kuroko grabs hold of it right before it reaches his hands, and before anyone can move, she's already dribbling down court, shooting a Phantom Shot just as Murasakibara reaches her.

Yosen is backed into a corner. When it comes to full court defense, usually only speed and passes can break it. With Kuroko on court, careless passes will be stolen-even careful ones will probably be taken as well. There's really only one option for them, but...

Number five seems to arrive at the same conclusion, driving past Izuki only to have the ball knocked out of his hands by a waiting Kuroko.

Izuki grabs hold of it, the ball leaving his hand and sinking into the basket, just as the clock counts down. It's the end of the third quarter.

"Yeah!"

"Izuki-senpai!"

The whistle sounds, and Kiyoshi lets out a small, disappointed sigh. _"No count! We'll now take a two minute break!"_

The disappointment is palpable as the players make their way back to the benches. Kiyoshi attempts a weak smile to reassure Izuki, who only waves it off with a good natured smile. "Don't worry about me."

Water bottles and towels are handed out to the players, and as he wipes his face, Izuki says, "Running a full court defense is tough. Can we last until the end of the game?"

"We'll make it last," Hyuuga replies not-so-reassuringly, and Riko seems to agree with Kiyoshi's sentiment with her next words.

"But I can't imagine that Yosen won't try anything."

"Coach, about that," Kagami interjects, drawing her attention to him, "Once they break through our full court defense and move to a half court game, let us run a two-three zone with me in the middle."

"What?" Izuki gasps, although whether that has to do with the proposition or the fact that _Kagami's_ the one who came up with it, Kiyoshi isn't sure.

"The same formation as Yosen?" Hyuuga questions, skepticism dripping from his voice.

"Like Murasakibara, I'll cover the entire two point area."

"You can do that?" Koganei asks, eyes wide in disbelief.

"No matter who comes, I'll stop them." Kagami tenses slightly. It's not a reassuring sign. "For Kiyoshi-senpai."

Kiyoshi blinks before the words sink in and he understands them. A warm, fuzzy feeling is suddenly buzzing under his skin, and it's a surprise because _Kagami_ had been the one to put it there.

Riko deliberates for a long moment before nodding. "Got it. In the fourth quarter, we'll run the stealth man-to-man full court and a two-three zone half court..."

She continues speaking, but Kiyoshi doesn't hear anything. Instead, his attention is on the people surrounding him-Kagami, listening intently to Riko's strategy, Izuki, getting a shoulder massage from one of the first years, Kuroko, watching and observing silently as she surreptitiously brushes her water bottle against her left wrist, Hyuuga, asking questions and contributing to Riko's plan, Mitobe, "talking" with Koganei, the other first years offering whatever help they can give.

This is his team. _Their_ team. At the end of the Winter Cup, he'll never be able to play with them ever again.

"Kiyoshi, why are you just sitting there?" Hyuuga snaps, glancing towards him. "If you have any good ideas-what?" Kiyoshi can only imagine what expression is on his face right now. "Why are you crying?"

It takes a moment for Kiyoshi to realize that Hyuuga was right; he _is_ crying. Tears are mingling with the sweat he hadn't bothered to wipe off, and strangely enough, the negativity that has been filling him since he was benched is receding.

"Teppei?" Riko's concerned voice draws him back to the present, where all of his teammates are staring at him, some concerned, some petrified, some just plain confused.

He blinks. More tears fall. "Oh. This is...why am I crying?"

"That's what I'd like to know!"

Kiyoshi blinks again, not bothering to wipe away to the liquid. "I don't know how to put it, but it's probably...you guys seem so reliable, I'm relieved. When I realized I wasn't alone, I couldn't help myself."

That isn't all of it, but it's still true.

"What?" Hyuuga snarls, "Why are you stating the obvious now? I'm actually kind of pissed!"

Kiyoshi blinks, glancing towards the rest of his teammates.

Kagami stares back at him with blank eyes. "Sorry, but, honestly, I'm angry, too."

"Me too," Kuroko affirms, nodding her head.

Izuki turns, glancing back. "Koga, could you get my slap stick out of my bag?"

"Huh? Did you really put-you did?"

"Hey, this isn't the time for that!" Riko scolds, though the way the edges of her mouth are twitching doesn't lend any sort of authenticity to her reprimanding words.

As his teammates continue to squabble, Kiyoshi smiles, staring down at his hands in his lap. _Ah. I see. A team isn't just something to be protected. A team also protects you._

And maybe it doesn't hurt so much anymore, that Kuroko is fighting for his sake. (Maybe he's just grateful.)

_We don't support each other because we're a team. We're a team because we support each other. I won't waver again. I..._

"Why don't we form a circle again?" Kuroko asks, causing the team to glance back at her. "In some ways, I think Murasakibara-kun was right when he said that basketball isn't fair. However, basketball isn't a game you play alone. I want to win together, and I believe we can do it."

Hyuuga smirks. "Okay, then. Let's go!"

The team shuffles to form a somewhat lopsided circle, bending down and resting their hands on their knees, leaning their heads forward. "Seirin, fight!"

The players are making their way back onto court for the final ten minutes, and Murasakibara stops Kuroko on her way to her position. "It looks like you were hyping each other up, but..." He tilts his head to the side, and even though Kiyoshi can't see his face from where he's sitting, the darkness in Murasakibara's voice is more than enough to send shivers down his spine. "I'm going to crush everything."

Kuroko stands her ground, though, her eyes calm and bright with determination as she replies. "Seirin's not that weak."

Another face off is happening between Kagami and Himuro. The former raises his chin slightly. "I won't hold back."

"Of course," Himuro replies, matching Kagami. "Let's settle this."

"Let's go! Let's win this game!"

The crowd roars in response, and Kiyoshi smiles. "Riko, I really do like basketball. I'm glad I play."

"Huh? Where did that come from?" She sound more concerned than angry or joking, which only makes what he's about to say even harder to say.

"So...I'm sorry." He hasn't told her yet, hasn't told anyone yet, though he's sure that Kuroko knows. "This is...the last time." Her head jerks slightly as understanding dawns. He pushes onwards. "I need a favor."

(For what it's worth, he's only ever cruel when he truly, truly wants something with all his heart.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Murasakibara Atsushi: 9  
> Himuro Tatsuya: 12  
> Wei Liu: 11  
> Okamura Kenichi: 4  
> Fukui Kensuke: 5


	26. Twenty Sixth: Wings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark 
> 
> Enjoy!

Kagami is grateful that his teammates understand, or at least, if they don't, they trust him enough to leave the inside to him, despite the fact that he can hardly be considered the poster child for intelligence and tactical plays.

Murasakibara's eyes drill into the top of his head from all the way up there, and Kagami's neck and spine are tingling in the bad kind of way. His ears catch on the sound of scuffing shoes to his right, where Izuki-senpai and Tatsuy-Himuro are. The tension is rising with every second that passes and number five continues to dribble the ball in place, slanted eyes darting around court.

The Yosen player's jaw sets, and then he's in form, jumping up into the air and releasing the ball.

"Crap!" Izuki-senpai exclaims, unable to react in time.

"It's an alley-oop!" Captain shouts, and Kagami turns just in time to watch Murasakibara jump up, reaching for the ball. Kagami follows the purple-haired giant into the air, arm reaching the same height as his just as the ball lands in Murasakibara's grip.

"All we have to do is pass," number five declares from his position behind Kagami, even as Murasakibara brings his arms backward, dunking the ball behind his head, the overwhelming force pushing Kagami's arms down and hid body back. "After all, our center is Murasakibara."

It's a bit disarming, to hear the sincere and genuine faith this guy's teammates seem to have in him.

"Kagami-kun!" Tetsuya's voice sounds more panicked than usual, and Kagami sends her a reassuring smile as he steadies himself once he manages to stand up.

Murasakibara lands a second later, wobbling for a moment before straightening and turning towards him. "Do you really think that you can stop me alone?" His eyes are slanted, pupils dilated as he looks down his nose at Kagami, who only stares defiantly back. "Don't be so conceited, Kagami."

His hackles raise, and he lifts his chin, spitting out through gritted teeth, "Do you really think that I'm playing _basketball_ alone? I'll do what it takes to win. I'll stop you for sure."

Number four starts with the ball, immediately guarded by Izuki-senpai. Kagami's away from the center, guarding Tatsu-Himuro. He can still feel Murasakibara staring him down from across court, but he doesn't let it bother him, breathing in deeply and sharpening his focus.

(He's grown a lot.)

Number four doesn't hesitate at the change in formations, sneaking a pass past Izuki-senpai. Tat-Himuro breaks past Kagami, grabbing hold of the ball, and then he's breaking, turning and streaking towards Murasakibara. There's a flurry of movement as all the Yosen players immediately follow after their teammate, and Kagami can only stare in confusion because he doesn't remember them doing anything like _this_ in the last three quarters.

And then he's suddenly circling back around, coming up in front of Kagami, dark eyes wide and dangerous, sleek hair flying everywhere in a whirlwind of destruction, and Kagami can _smell_ how powerful he is. It's like a potent spice, rich and tangy and he's going to be burned if he dares to take him on.

There's no choice to be made though because no one else on Seirin is in the right position to do anything but watch and rtest the weight of their hopes and dreams on Kagami's, on the _ace's_ , shoulders. He gladly accepts.

Kagami lowers his head, sets his feet wide, raises his arms, "You're not going anywhere!"

The Yosen player responds in kind, tension crackling between them, and it hits Kagami right then and there that this game is a turning point in their relationship, for good or for worse. "Do it, if you can!"

His knees bend, and then Himuro is driving forward with all the intensity of a striking snake. Hs feet shift towards the left, and Kagami turns to follow when he blinks and Himuro's figure flickers out of existence because he had never been there in the first place. A sharp draft presses against Kagami, and he whirls round to find that his opponent is already past him, moving with a grace that's usually lost on court. _Seriously? His fakes are good enough, but he's going even faster now!_

"Muro-chin, stop!"

In the difference between a tenth and a ninth of a second, Himuro brakes, screeching to a halt and pulling his arm back, masterfully steering the ball with a single hand away from Tetsutay's outstretched hand. If not for her eternal poker face, Kagami's sure that she would be full-on pouting as she lowers her arm and falls back, settling into a defensive position, cool blue eyes locked on Himuro's frame.

Kagami rushes forward, followed by the rest of his teammates, inserting himself in between Himuro and the basket. A flash of white draws Kagami's attention to his face, and ice drips down his spine when he sees the expression Himuro is sporting. His teeth are gritted to the point that his jaw trembles with the effort and force, and his eyes are wide in a way that reminds Kagami of fucking Hanamiya Makoto and Akashi Seijūrō and Aomine Daiki-basically, every single fucking person that makes his heart beat faster, his muscles shake, his skin break out into cold sweat, and his mouth go dry.

He doesn't have time to ruminate any further on this because number five is shouting, "Himuro, pass!", and Himuro is shifting towards him, hands reaching out with the ball that Captain is reaching out for when the afterimage disappears and Himuro is ducking past Captain on his other side, dribbling the ball low to the ground. In an almost mocking manner, he continues onwards, straightening and taking steps in long, graceful swoops that leave so many openings. Maybe it's another trick, though, another illusion.

Kagami never thought before that anyone other than Tetsuya would make him question what he sees with his very own eyes.

He slides his right foot in front, arms loose and ready as Himuro continues directly towards him, the world around them erasing itself until only they, the court beneath their feet, and the basket behind him are left.

"Kagami!" Himuro's snarl is loud and shocking and full of anger. He sets his feet, leaping up until his hips are at eye level, but Kagami doesn't waver.

He knows what's going on now.

_The truth behind the Mirage Shot is that he's releasing the ball twice. First he jumps and snaps the ball straight in the air at the peak of his jump. Then he catches the ball and shoots it again. To an ordinary player, it simply seems like he released the ball twice. However, Himuro's skills are so elegant, even his fakes look like real shots. When he does it, his first release makes the air shimmer, concealing the ball on his second release. In other words, in order to stop him, I have to delay my block!_

He waits another long second before jumping up, arm reaching out to slam the second release out of the air, but something's wrong. Himuro still hasn't released the ball.

Another chill runs down Kagami's spine as his eyes meet Himuro's, and they're frosty with the intention to freeze and destroy. "I know you know."

His wrists snap up and the ball arcs over Kagami's fingers. _He shot the ball on the first release!_

"Did you think that my Mirage Shit was just some sort of trick shot?" The condescension filled whisper is more than enough to further infuse Kagami's body with ice, slipping in and infecting him all the way to his bone marrow. "I can shoot on either release after seeing how my opponent times their jump. Knowing how it works is useless. No one can touch the Mirage Shot."

Kagami doesn't see, but he can hear the ball sink neatly into the basket, the swish of the net unpunctuated by any other sound.

Kagami grits his teeth, breathing sharply as frustration roils under his skin. _I can't win like this, but...if I could just enter the Zone like I did against Aomine..._

And if he can't even do that, what kind of an ace would he be?

Izuki-senpai passes the ball to Tetsuya, who shoots it up with a Phantom shot hastily, her face scrunching slightly. The ball hits the rim and bounces off, and the desperation Kagami feels further rises. Their offense is collapsing, their defense is already in shambles, and Kagami can't seem to do anything about it, not even enter the fucking Zone.

He handsa curl into fists.

If their full-court defense is broken, Seirin won't be able to do anything.

Number five dribbles down court with the rebound, quickly tailed by Izuki-senpai. The ball is thrown forward, caught by Murasakibara who slams a dunk above Kagami.

Himuro scores another basket, bringing the score to 58-49 in Yosen's favor three minutes into the last ten.

Kagami stands under the basket, head lowered, hands braced on his knees. He takes another deep breath, but the air isn't doing anything to calm whatever _chaos_ is currently reigning supreme in his mind, in his body, inside of him. He can hear his teammates bemoaning the score, can imagine them blaming _him_ for it and they would be right-completely, one hundred percent right that he's letting them down. The ace meant to carry them to the heavens is instead dragging them through the dust and no matter how hard he tries, the door before him just won't budge. The wall refuses to be broken down, and Kagami has never been the smartest guy but when it comes to basketball, he's always been able to.

Instead, his confidence and his peace of mind are both being stripped away, shattered to pieces under the feet of the two monsters on Yosen's team.

"It's too reckless," he hears Izuki-senpai remark, and he resists the urge to twitch, to say any sign of him doing anything other than breathing and attempting to calm down. "Does Kagami have some kind of plan?"

His fists grow tighter, and Kagami feels the urge to-to hit something or someone, just get all this frustration and anger out when Tetsuya's calm voice stops him. "It's not that I think he doesn't have a plan. I'm sure that he does. He wouldn't be trying si hard if he didn't. But I get the feeling that we can't keep doing this."

Kagami grits his teeth and slowly straightens up, letting his head fall back and thump against his spine. The sudden motion causes a sickening cracking sound as his neck is snapped up and back, but it does a good job of clearing his head somewhat. As always, Tetsuya knows exactly what to say and do to make him feel better. Even with her conviction, though, that doesn't negate the fact that Seirin is in a tight pinch right now.

They need to figure something out.

Izuki-senpai starts with the ball, passing it to Kagami who dribbles past the rest of the players. He launches himself up, arm with the basketball aiming for the basket when Murasakibara's arm comes flashing in, striking the ball out of his grip and out of bounds.

_"Out of bounds! Black ball!"_

"Damn it," Kagami grumbles under his breath, the frustration and anger and self-loathing coming back as he jogs towards the ball. He comes to a stop, eyes widening when he sees where it is.

Inside of Kise Ryouta's hands, who stands not far away from the rest of his team. _Are they even allowed down here?_

"Why do you look so miserable?" Kise remarks casually, his usual smile and childish look gone. The blonde only ever gets serious on court, or when he's addressing something related to basketball.

It's a weird transformation.

"Kise."

Unusual yellow eyes that suddenly remind him of another girl, one that he isn't all that close to but apparently knows Akashi and Aomine and is practically attached to Tetsuya's hip when she's not on a basketball court. Their eyes are both such rare colors-a bright yellow, except Echizen's are more golden than yellow. Much prettier and much less harsh than Kise's.

The blonde closes his eyes, raising his chin. "Oh? Sorry, I mistook you for someone I knew." His eyes slit open, and there's nothing pretty about the coldness in his eyes, "Who are you?"

Kagami's eyebrows furrow and he leans forward slightly. "Huh? What are you-"

Kise's chin tilts up, and he stares down his nose at Kagami. "I don't know any idiots who rely on anything when they play basketball." Kagami recoils slightly, jaw trembling with the strain of grinding his teeth together. Kise casually spins the all on his finger before tossing it to Kagami, who catches it before it hits his chest. "Looks like I'll be playing Murasakibaracchi in the semifinals." He looks past Kagami, tilting his head to the side, face lightening into a smile. "I look forward to playing you."

"You're right," Murasakibara responds just as casually. "Actually, I'm in a game right now. Don't talk to me."

The flippant way that they're talking over Kagami as if he doesn't exist...kind of pisses him off.

"Excuse me, sir, we're currently in the middle of a game. Please step off court right now or we'll have to call security down."

Kise throws his arm up in a mocking sort of wave as he turns his back on them, making his way back to his team. "That someone I knew was far scarier in our practice game."

He doesn't say anything else, and Kagami grits his teeth as he bounces the ball back in. _Relying on something? When have I ever relied on anything when playing basketball? All I could do then was fight recklessly. I was far weaker then and I couldn't even enter the Zone. If anything, that was natural, but I-_

Oh. Well. _Shit, I really am an idiot._

As if sensing his thoughts, Tetsuya remarks dryly, "Kagami-kun, it looks as if you've reached enlightenment."

He ignores her remark, instead asking, "Tetsuya, have you ever entered the Zone?"

"The Zone? I don't know, but in any case, I don't think it's something that can be entered into so easily." It's a silent reprimand, and Kagami lets out a short laugh.

"You're right." Closing his eyes, he brings his hands up and slap both his cheeks simultaneously.

"Kagami?" he hears Captain ask.

Lowering his hands, Kagami takes another deep breath, and this time, he really does calm down. "No matter how much it hurts, I just have to do whatever I can now."

Warmth curls in the pit of his stomach at the small smile that graces Tetsuya's face in response to his words.

* * *

Number eleven races up to the basket for a layup, but Kagami's a couple steps ahead, leaping up with all his strength, and he loves the burning in his legs and his arms.

Number eleven changes his grip on the ball, bringing it down and passing it around Kagami's body to number four, who slams the ball into the basket forcefully.

Kagami frowns slightly, even as the whistle blows. _"Seirin High, time out!"_

He and the rest of his teammates make their ways to the bench. He's surprised to find that Coach isn't standing there, waiting for them with a tight smile and a reassuring look in her eyes. Once they're all seated with towels draped over their necks and water bottles in their hands, Koganei-senpai stands in front of them, flanked by Tsuchida-senpai and Fukuda. "I've got a message from the coach. Kuroko, Hyuuga, and Izuki triple-team Himuro. Kagami and Mitobe will handle the inside. Reduce Kagami's defensive range to the paint."

"We may be able to reduce the number of Himuro's attacks," Captain remarks, taking a swallow of water, "but we'll suddenly be weak on the inside."

Izuki-senpai chimes in with, "If we're not providing enough defense, we should focus on our goals, even if it leaves us open."

"Yeah, but..."

Kagami feels Captain's gaze on him, and he doesn't hesitate. "Roger that. I couldn't do what Murasakibara's doing. Sorry. In any case, I'll focus on the paint."

He glances towards Captain, only to blink when faced with the wide eyes of the rest of his teammates, "...What?"

A slightly muffles giggle sounds to his right, and it's his turn to stare in shock as Tetsuya hides her mouth behind her thin wrist, usually closed off eyes glittering with mirth. "Sorry, sorry. It's just...character development at its finest."

She cracks up again, and Kagami is too mesmerized by the rare display of emotion to question her on her questionable explanation.

The buzzer sounds, and Kagami steps out onto court first, much calmer than before. Harsh though it may have been, he had needed Kise's verbal throw down into reality.

Yosen starts with the ball, and it circulates around court before landing in number four's hands. He jumps up for a basket, but Kagami quickly follows, hand thrown up in a block. The ball grazes his fingers, and the ball bounces off the rim. Before he even lands, Murasakibara follows up with a putback dunk.

Kagami takes a deep breath, calmness pulsing in and out of his veins. (He's doing this.)

In the following few plays, Kagami manages to keep the ball away from the basket, and he can tell that some of them are getting annoyed-Murasakibara especially.

Izuki-senpai tosses the ball towards Captain when Murasakibara grabs hold of it with his long arm, dribbling in the opposite direction.

"Crap!"

"Get back!"

"It's a counterattack!"

Kagami's lips curl up, and then he's running, the air pushing back against him but it means nothing when he cuts through it the way a knife does butter. Murasakibara is in the air already, ball mere centimeters away from sinking into the basket, but then Kagami's on him, jumping up and pushing back with all his strength. One second of an intense battle, both mental and physical, and then the ball is pushed out from in between both of their hands, hurtling backwards.

They land at the same time, and Murasakibara draws himself up to his full height, growling out his name like its a curse, but Kagami isn't even paying attention to him.

Instead, his eyes are on blue-haired girl as she states, more to him than to anyone else, "I truly believe that Kagami-kun is Seirin's light."

Those are the last things his mind fully comprehends before all manner of thinking is shut down and he steps past the threshold of the Zone.

* * *

It seems more intense than before.

Faster, stronger, sharper.

Kuroko can only watch in a strange mixture of awe and terror as Kagami pressures Yosen without once stepping beyond his set boundaries. Red light crackles throughout the stadium, and Kagami's eyes are unfocused yet focused at the same time-one hundred percent zoned in on every nuance of the basketball, zoning out everything else.

Fukui picks up the ball, heading forward before pulling back as Kagami steps in between him and Murasakibara on the inside.

"Oi!" Himuro calls, and the ball is passed up to him. Kuroko moves ti the left, mirroring his movements when her ears catch onto something else, something that doesn't match up with what she sees, but by then it's too late, and thr phantom she had been chasing disappears in a flash.

She grits her teeth as Himuro continues onwards. Now that she isn't looking at him, she can hear the different patterns of his feet on the ground, telltale signs of exactly where he's heading. It annoys her greatly, the fact that she still relies so much on her sight despite training so hard, despite Echizen having gone through so much trouble just to improve Kuroko's basketball. She just wishes that she can apply what she has learned without hesitation, yet here she is.

Still, that doesn't mean that this is the end of the line, and her hand curls into a fist as she turns around, just in time to watch as Himuro comes up in front of Kagami. He pulls back, jumps up, ball in position and Kagami quickly follows him up into the air, arm up.

"He jumped on the first release?"

Himuro throws the ball up in its first release, but Kagami's still there, still in the air. Kuroko's jaw slackens slightly.

_He looks like he's flying._

Himuro releases the ball, and Kagami slaps it out of the air.

"Nice block!"

"He stopped the Mirage Shot!"

Kuroko snaps out of her daze just enough to grab the ball, dribbling it down court.

"Crap! Get back!"

Two Yosen players come up in front of her to block, and she's readying herself to execute her Pjantom Drive when Kagami shouts, "Tetsuya!"

She immediately changes courses, twisting her wrist and passing it to Kagami, who comes to a stop at the three-pointer line. He executes a perfect three, turning around before it even sinks into the basket, knowing with one hundred percent certainty that it would go in,

Kuroko blinks. For a moment, she saw Midorima.

"Amazing..." she breathes, eyes following her light. Pride swells in her chest. _Do you see, Seijūrō, Aomine-kun? He isn't a mistake._ Seirin _isn't a mistake._

Fukui starts with the ball again, teeth gritted, clearly frustrated and tense.

"Give it to me!" Murasakibara calls, raising a hand, and Fukui delivers, the ball landing solidly in the giant's hands. Murasakibara, bends his knees, jumping up and whirling around in the air, the full force of his leg strength propelling him up, up, and forward when all of it is just _stopped_ by Kagami.

His hands grip the basketball as he holds the two in place. Kuroko can only stare in shock, _This power doesn't just come from being in the Zone...he's adding power by jumping forward. Even so..._

Not even Aomine would be able to disregard this feat.

Kagami forces the ball out of Murasakibara's hands, pushing him back, and as Yosen's ceter lands, he falls back, barely able to catch himself with one hand braced against the ground.

Even in the Zone, Kagami is able to focus enough to say, "Sorry, I used too much strength."

_What a smart-ass._

Only someone in the Zone could possibly stop Kagami now. It's not likely that any of Yosen will be able to enter the Zone. After all, the most basic stipulation to entering the Zone would be to stake everything on the sport being played. In broader, more general terms, one would have to love basketball more than anything. Murasakibara has the body, the talent, the skill-but the one thing he lacks is the most important of all. Of the Generation of Miracles, he's the most naturally talented, but he'll never be able to enter the Zone. He lacks the the drive, the motivation, the passion, the _love_ for basketball.

As for Himuro...well...he just has... _problems_.

Kuroko slips in between two players, easily intercepting a pass between Fukui and Murasakibara. She feels Kagami breeze past her and before Fukui can still the ball back, she punches the ball towards him. He plucks it out of the air without a problem, eating up the distance with long strides. Himuro comes up, face set into a snarl. Kagami pushes forward, feet dancing across the ground, and in a fake on par with Himuro's ducks to the left before whirling around Himuro's right when he falls for it. Murasakibara guards the basket behind Himuro, eyes narrowed, arms widespread. Kagami jumps at the freethrow line, his bent knees at the moment of launching propelling him forward. Murasakibara follows, and for all the laws of physics (and common sense), Kagami should be landing on the ground first, should be descending first-except he isn't.

Instead, Murasakibara is falling, eyes wide in disbelief as Kagami continues to float in the air, a bird hovering with outstretchef wings, and it's absolutely _ridiculous_ and _impossible_.

_Air walking._

Right over Murasakibaras hand, he slams the ball into the basket, nailing it in. The audience bursts into approving cheers, shrill whistling, and Seirin is smiling as the buzzer sounds for a timeout and the two teams make their ways to their respective benches.

The score is 64-60 with three minutes left of the game. In just four minutes, Kagami had almost single-handedly managed to reduce the point gap by five against the best defense team of the nation.

"Amazing!" Koganei gushes, flapping his arms up and down in excitement, "We could really win this! Kagami's too amazing!"

"Hey! It's too easy to celebrate," Aida reprimands rather sharply, always the voice of reason.

Kuroko glances towards Kagami, who sits on the edge of the bench, water bottle forgotten in his hands. He must be tired. It's honestly quite an accomplishment, the fact that he's managed to last this long already. Hopefully, he'll be able to last for the rest of the game.

Her attention is drawn from Kagami to Yosen's bench when she hears the sound of skin hitting skin and a loud crunch.

Himuro stands before Murasakibara, eyes wide, teeth gritted, fists clenched. The knuckles of his right hand are red, already beginning to swell, but he doesn't seem all that concerned about them. He grabs hold of Murasakibara's collar, pulling the giant up, the red mark on his cheek shining under the fluorescent lighting. "That's enough, Atsushi! The game's not over yet!"

For someone so cool and collected, it's strange to see him really upset.

"Ow," Murasakibara grumbles. "It's so annoying when you get hot-blooded. Besides, you're even more useless against Kagami than me. Can't you tell he's better than you?"

 _Cruel_ , Kuroko decides, watching as Himuro slowly straightens, his grip loosening as his face slackens. _Crueller all the more because he knows where to hit where it hurts the most yet doesn't know the consequences._

Yet another reminder that Himuro will never be good enough. He'll never be chosen. He'll never be able to enter the Zone because although he's good, although he's almost at the level of the Generation of Miracles, he'll only ever be the best an ordinary man can be.

It hurts to say that, because all Kuroko is doing is admitting to herself that hard work doesn't mean anything. That in the end, prodigies are prodigies and will always triumph. It hurts, but Kuroko's okay with that.

Because with a team, even the strongest of prodigies will fall. Whether or not Himuro understands, or feels the same way-that's something that Kuroko doesn't know, not right now.

"I know." Himuro's voice is soft, broken. "I know that. I've always been jealous of his abilities. But you have what I desperately want, and you're trying to throw the game." From here, Kuroko can't tell, but she swears she sees a something drop onto Murasakibara's cheek. "You're making me crazy with rage."

Murasakibara answers in a low, unyielding tone. _Cruel_. "Get away from me. That's so annoying. Anyway, I can't believe you're crying." So she hadn't imagined it. "I sort of noticed, but I didn't know you felt this strongly. Actually, this is the first time I've been amazed by how much someone repulses me. I guess I'll stay on court until the end of the game." Murasakibara stands up, easily shaking off Himuro's grip on his jersey. "Masako-chin..."

"I told you to call me Coach!"

"Could I have a hair tie?"

Kuroko's eyes widen and she stiffens slightly.

"Kuroko?" Hyuuga-senpai blinks when Kuroko slowly turns around, eyes wide, paler than she usually is. "What's wrong?"

"We're in big trouble. They're more dangerous than ever."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Murasakibara Atsushi: 9  
> Himuro Tatsuya: 12  
> Wei Liu: 11  
> Okamura Kenichi: 4  
> Fukui Kensuke: 5


	27. Twenty Seventh: Stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

It's official. The Generation of Miracles is full of insane people.

It's not as if Takao hadn't known before, but the fact of the matter is that the majority of them need to find a psychiatrist for some mental deficiency or another.

Even Shin-chan, who, second to Kise, is probably the most normal and able to mingle with the regulars of society.

The black-haired teen lets out a sort of scoff, more as an expression of amazement than derision. Monsters, the whole lot of them, especially Kagami, who radiates an intensity that makes Takao's hair stand on end, some fifteen meters up. He hadn't believed it the first time, and seeing Kagami in the legendary Zone for a second time does little to dispel Takao's incredulity over the entire situation.

Really, these are _high school_ students! They're performing pro level highlight reel moves every other breath. Takao has complete rights over the disbelief and slight hysteria bubbling up inside of him the longer he watches Murasakibara reach the other side of the court in five steps, or Kagami stay in the air longer than someone who jumps after him, or Kuroko shoot disappearing shot after disappearing shot when, from what he knows since he first saw her sitting on his doorstep looking all depressed as hell, she's never been able to sink a regular basket in the first place.

Down on court, both teams look a little worse for wear. Hair glistens with sweat on both sides, and even from this distance, Takao can see tremors working their way down some players' skin. Murasakibara is tying his shoulder-length hair up, fringe escaping and hanging over his eyes. It would be a comical sight if not for the menacing glare painted on his face combined with hands larger than Takao's face.

Takao lets out a sigh, deflating and leaning forward so his forehead rests on the back of the set in front of him. Of all the times for Shin-chan to go to Akiba for some limited edition figurine that he apparently needs as his lucky item for next month (if Shin-chan put half as much effort into socializing as he does into finding and securing his lucky items, he'd be the most popular student in Shutoku), it just has to be _today_. What're the chances?

Pretty damn high, those are the chances, so Takao finds himself alone, wallowing in his misery and inability to talk to someone who has a better understanding of Generation of Miracles dynamics than himself.

Murasakibara begins to make his way towards his position, and as he passes Tetsu-chan, he pauses. His wide girth is blocking Tetsu-chan, so he can only strain his eyes to lipread Murasakibara in an attempt at understanding the confrontation.

"Yeah, I tried to, but I changed my mind." He turns his head towards Tetsu-chan, strands of hair that had escaped his sloppy ponytail slipping down to partially cover the side of his mouth. Takao can only guess at what he's saying now. "...crush...you...all...difficult...lose."

It's a rough translation at best, complete bogus at worst, but considering what little bits and pieces Takao's been able to glue together over the course of the game, he can assume that it's another dark threat that has eclipsed its effectiveness since the first ten or so times he had uttered it. Tetsu-chan must say something in retaliation, because after a long pause, Murasakibara moves on with a darker look on his face, and her lips are turned up slightly at the corners.

The game stats again, and number twelve, the one with movements so smooth that not even Takao's Hawk Eye can catch up to him, is immediately set upon by Tetsu-chan, Izuki, and Hyuuga. From behind, Yosen's captain sets up a screen, blocking Hyuuga as number twelve streaks to his left, quickly followed by Tetsu-chan and Izuki.

Number twelve grabs hold of the ball before Tetsu-chan can intercept the pass, and she's left to guard him by herself as Izuki catches up. Number twelve brings the ball to his chest, jumping up for a shot, and Takao can only gape as his afterimage fades once Tetsu-chan is fully in the air, her opponent ducking around her dangling feet. It's unreal, this guy's movements. He's never seen someone like this, who can trick his Hawk Eye so thoroughly. Even Tetsu-chan doesn't make him see something that isn't there-in fact, now that he thinks about it, they're opposites. If number twelve manipulates people into seeing something that doesn't exist, then Tetsu-chan manipulates people into not seeing something that does exist..

Kagami rushes forward, jumping with number twelve. There's only one course of action at this point, only one way for Yosen to score a point when the ball is in the hands of a guy whose trump card has been beaten before. Shifting his position, number twelve throws the ball down instead of up, the sharp angle landing it directly in Murasakibara's hands. Over number eight who had been guarding the basket, Murasakibara zeroes in for a dunk using the unexpected pass.

Sparks of red flash across Takao's vision, and he has to blink rapidly to clear them from his vision. In that moment, Kagami has landed, whirled around, and jumped again, this time in between Murasakibara and the basket, his hand braced against the ball and pushing back against what must be the wrist snapping force of Murasakibara's strength.

Even Takao is taken aback when Murasakibara redirects the ball, yanking it down and throwing it around Kagami's body in a successful pass to number twelve.

Even Kagami in the Zone can't fend off the two Yosen players working in tandem. The ball bounces off the backboard and into the basket. Takao sighs, further leaning forward. It's a good thing that the seat is empty, or Takao would probably have a lot of explaining to do.

Tetsu-chan must be shocked. After all, she's the one who called him in the middle of the night, voice shaking with nerves and anticipation, to ask him about his thoughts on what she's planning to do in a backwater school like Seirin. She's the one who told him with a monotone voice saturated in heavy sadness that the word "team" as become obsolete to her. She's the one who burst into tears the night he first came to her house, because that was the day Aomine first told her that he didn't need her passes anymore.

More than anyone, Tetsu-chan would be the happiest, even as an opponent, that Murasakibara had just made a team play (of some sort).

Kagami doesn't seem as content with the results. Takao snorts as Kagami starts with the ball, facing off against number five as the point guard. Without much effort, he passes the slanted eyed teen, quickly marked by a focused Murasakibara. A quick sleight of hand has the ball flying to the side instead of up or any other expected direction. Tetsu-chan redirects the ball up, and Kagami thunders in from around Murasakibara dunking the ball in an alley-oop.

Kagami once again acts as point guard, driving past number five and employing the same technique, this time passing the ball to his opposite side, where Izuki grabs hold of it. Murasakibara comes up behind him as Izuki makes for a layup, and the Eagle Eye user shifts the ball, tossing it up and behind him, where Kagami floats in the air. He grabs hold of it with both hands, making a dunk with an ear splitting roar despite Murasakibara having managed to jump again in an attempt at blocking his basket.

Takao laughs. Really, what else can he do in the face of this monstrous display of strength? Seirin's games are never boring.

This time, Izuki starts with the ball, dribbling down court and passing to Kagami when he's held up by number five. Kagami easily weaves through the forest of Yosen's defenders, managing to score another two points.

The next point is made by Murasakibara after a successful alley-oop pass made by number twelve. Almost a minute left of the fourth quarter and the score is 72-68 in Yosen's favor. That's a four point difference-easily coverable in one minute, but in such a high stakes, high paced match, easy becomes hard, and hard becomes nigh impossible.

"No one's giving ground!"

"Who's going to win in the last minute?"

Seirin looks exhausted. Takao can understand, but now isn't the time to be hyperaware of sore muscles and fatigue. It shows when a sloppy pass misses its intended mark and bounces out of bounds. The whistle blows. _"White ball!"_

In the momentary lull in the game, another announcement is made. _"Black, member change!"_

Seirin's faces light up, and Takao laughs again. Perfect timing.

Kiyoshi rests his wrist against his hip. His back is facing Takao, but he can see the lack of tension in the center's shoulders, the calm and confidence that he radiates, such a contrast to his state, both physical and mental, when he had been taken off court.

_He's not called the Iron Heart for nothing, after all._

Murasakibara must say something as number eight makes his way off court, high-fiving Kiyoshi as he does so. Takao can just barely make out what he's saying, since the angle at which he's standing at is hardly prime. "...sick of this...you need to be crushed...too tough."

Kiyoshi turns towards Murasakibara, responding with, "That's my strength."

Hyuuga raises an arm, resting his hand on his hip. "You know what's going on, Kiyoshi." The one in question turns his head again, hiding any response he might make. "You kept us waiting long enough."

Seirin's in a bit of a pinch, though. If they let Yosen score even one basket in the remaining one minute, they on't be able to win. In other words, they have to repeatedly stop Yosen's offense all while making their own shots. It sounds impossible in Takao's mind-how'll Seirin pull it off in real life?

With Kiyoshi back on court, Seirin reverts back to a Triangle-and-Two defense, something they had used during the first half. Both sides are erring on the cautious side, not willing to give up any easy points.

Number five passes the ball to number twelve, who's being zealously guarded by Kagami. Number twelve smoothly converts a jump shot into a pass around Kagami to Murasakibara, who spins and jumps, hands heading straight for the basket. Kagami lands but is in the air in a flash, cutting in from the side with a single hand outstretched to block Murasakibara's shot. It's a perfect doubly play, on both ends.

Murasakibara pulls his arms down, tossing the ball back towards a waiting number twelve, who's immediately marked by Kiyoshi. Yosen hadn't been expecting that. Even still, number twelve seems to keep his calm, immediately settling into a familiar form-the Mirage Shot. Unlike Kagami, Kiyoshi doesn't have ridiculous super jumps or even the benefits of the Zone. Then again, it's not like Kagami has Kiyoshi's sensibility. It's not as if stopping both releases is the only way to block the Mirage Shot.

Kiyoshi jumps at the first release. What follows next is a high paced mental match that most people can't follow-much like Aomine and Kagami's face off, when Kagami first showed that he actually has the capability of respecting his boundaries and limits. Takao can hardly convince himself that he understands either, but some sort of psychological game must've been played during that moment as number twelve releases the ball and Hyuuga comes up from behind, hitting the ball out of the air and keeping Seirin in the game.

Seirin doesn't have time to celebrate as Tetsu-chan reaches the rolling ball first, picking it up and passing it to Izuki. Both teams begin heading down court, with Yosen holding their defense strong, the ball jumping from Izuki's possession to Kagami. He manages to drive past number twelve, stopping just within the line and trying for a jump shot.

As expected from someone who has been dunking for the majority of his life, the high stakes shot bounces off the rim of the basket. Two of Yosen's players are in the prime position to grab the rebound when Kiyoshi's hand shoots in between them, grabbing hold of the ball and pulling it back to him. He immediately passes to Hyuuga, who lines up the shot and shoots a perfect three.

Twenty seconds are left in the quarter, and the score is 72-71 in Yosen's favor. Takao grins, eyes automatically straying to the shock of teal blue that he's always been able to see, despite how invisible she is to other people. Of all people, it's always her that can pull off the impossible. Really.

After all, she had been the one to talk him out of offing himself.

It's not really something he likes to think about. How close he'd been to committing suicide. That had been the darkest period of his short sixteen years of life. At the time, he hadn't thought that anyone would be able to do anything anymore. After the merciless beat down the Generation of Miracles gave his team, Takao just felt...dead.

And she just had to meddle around in his business.

He had hated her at first. He really had. She was far too damn persistent, she was a member of the godforsaken team who had the power to stop them and instead decided to just stand by and watch them rip his team into pieces, she was so fucking nice and polite- _annoyingly_ so, and do't even get him _started_ in the elaborate apologies she practically shoved down his throat, complete with wads of yen and Bambi eyes.

In the end, he forgave her when he saw her do the same thing to one of his neighbors, a guy he had known since birth and who loved basketball more than anything else until he played the Generation of Miracles a couple of weeks after Takao, and he had kicked her out, screaming after her that he'll never forgive them, never forgive her, that he hopes she'll remember that she's the reason hundreds of middle schoolers have given up their hopes and dreams in basketball. She hadn't broken down, hadn't let a single tear drop, and instead picked up the flowers and slowly walked away.

Her eyes said that she was dying on the inside, and despite how much he hated her, he wasn't some heartless jerk. So he invited her into his house for a cup of warm tea.

To this day, he believes that that was the best decision he has ever made in his entire life.

Tetsu-chan is guarding Yosen's captain, the bulky one with ridiculous side burns. It's clear that he's too much for her to handle, and he breaks past her with a desperate force, roaring, "Pass the ball!"

It lands in his hands, and he passes it to number twelve, who breaks past Hyuuga and squares off with Kagami. The two jump into the air, and number twelve passes it around Kagami to Murasakibara standing behind Kagami. In a snarl that sends shivers down Takao's spine, Murasakibara whirls and jumps. building up for a Thor's Hammer. "I'll win this!"

Kagami's footstep sends quakes through he ground as he braces before pushing off, launching himself up to Murasakibara's height, and then both his hands are on the ball, pushing with all his strength. A dark aura seems to be leaking off of Murasakibara as his muscles tremor with the amount of strength running through his veins. It's ridiculous to see this midair stand-off in between two ridiculously powerful basketball players. Takao wants to laugh again, if only to warm the suddenly cold atmosphere.

Murasakibara is gaining centimeter by centimeter, pushing the ball closer and closer to the net. Takao's eyes catch a flash of brown before a large hand is suddenly on top of Kagami's, adding to the force opposing Murasakibara. It's ridiculous that even with two of Seirin's strongest players, the ball is still in a deadlock in between their hands and Murasakibara's, but eventually, the ball slips and shoots backwards, away from the basket, and Takao releases a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding, grin widening.

In a lightning fast counterattack, Hyuuga grabs hold of the flying ball, the rest of Seirin following him. The joyous atmosphere freezes once more when Murasakibara disappears, only to reappear on the other side of the court, before Hyuuga and Kagami had even reached that point. Takao's eyes widen and his heartbeat picks up. What the hell? He hadn't even seen him moving. He got there way too quickly.

A crackle of purple seems to radiate, mingling with Kagami's red, and this time, Takao _does_ laugh. Oh, wow. Oh, no way.

_Murasakibara's in the Zone._

What kind of convenient timing is this, huh? Less than ten seconds left and this monster's entered the Zone without breaking a sweat or even honestly trying-how fucking unfair is this? Where do these players get there luck, and can Takao have sone of it?

"We'll win!"

Kagami's roar echoes throughout the stadium, loud even over the chatter of the spectators. The steel of determination is clear in his voice. "It's the ace's job to carry everyone's hopes to victory! I'll exceed my limits as much as I need to!"

He jumps, rising higher than he's ever before, feet pulling up, back arcing backwards. _A laneup? Now?_ But it doesn't seem right, not with the way he's lined up. He won't be able to reach the hoop if that's the case.

Murasakibara is bending his knees, following Kagami up into the air, and Takao's eyes can see every tense, every bunch, every shift in their muscles as Kagami brings his arm up and with a blast that's reminiscent of a shotgun, slams the ball forward, knocking Murasakibara's arms out of the way, dunking the ball at an insane angle that sends it slamming into the ground with the force of a mini asteroid.

The score is 73-72 in Seirin's favor, but it's not over yet. As if following a one track line of mind, Murasakibara rushes down court, not even looking back as number twelve grabs the ball, throwing it in Seirin's signature style, the fast break. It's a last second counterattack, and Kagami is in no condition to follow after his last stunt. The rest of Seirin's players scrabble to catch up, but none of them have the physical capabilities of doing so.

For a moment, panic sets in. Maybe Seirin really _will_ lose, maybe they've been fighting a losing battle, maybe Seirin will _fail_ -

And then he sees it, and all sense of panic is wished away. There's no way that Seirin will lose. Not for a long time, and definitely not now.

Not when Tetsu-chan is fighting so hard on their side.

Murasakibara comes to a stop in font of the basket, wasting no time on anything more special than a simple shot when his legs seize up for a moment. It doesn't take long to realize why-throughout the entire game, he's been forced into jumping by Kiyoshi and Kagami. He's probably never had to jump so much in his life, considering his ridiculous height, and his body is still developing, despite how hard it is to believe at times.

Even so, that won't stop him from tossing it in.

Except for one person.

Tetsu-chan rushes up, blue hair in a mess as it comes out of her ponytail, but that doesn't stop her as she jumps up, knocking the ball out of the air just as Murasakibara releases it. Her voice, normally soft and mellow, echoes as she shouts, "It's all over now!"

_And it is._

Seirin bursts into cheers, quickly echoed by the stadium as the buzzer sounds, the timer ticking down to zero.

Seirin eins, 73-72, and Takao can't shake the smile off his face even if he wants to.

Down on court, Tetsu-chan is in the same exact state as him, and he wants to cry.

He can't imagine a world without her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko Tetsuya: 11  
> Kagami Taiga: 10  
> Kiyoshi Teppei: 7  
> Hyuuga Junpei: 4  
> Izuki Shun: 5  
> Mitobe Rinnosuke: 8
> 
> Murasakibara Atsushi: 9  
> Himuro Tatsuya: 12  
> Wei Liu: 11  
> Okamura Kenichi: 4  
> Fukui Kensuke: 5
> 
> Such a cheesy ending.


	28. Twenty Eighth: Threads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What even is a crossover anymore?
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

_"With a score of 73-72, Seirin High wins!"_

Echizen's smirk has morphed into a smile sometime during the last minute or so of the game, but it's not something she's particularly worried about. Jirou-senpai's arm is draped lazily over her shoulders, and when she glances to her left, he winks at her, causing laughter to bubble up in her throat.

There's just something about Seirin that makes her feel all warm and bubbly inside, giddy and heady and woozy. Maybe this is what being drunk feels like? After that incident back in America, she doubts she'll ever get within a ten meter radius of any type of drug either willingly or knowingly. Even without any experience, she's feeling pretty damn high, and she's not even the one standing on court.

She can only wonder at what Tetsu must be feeling.

_"Bow!"_

"I can see why you'd want to come to these games, Ryo-chan," Suke-senpai remarks from her other side, the three of them watching as the two teams bow to each other. The rest of her teammates hadn't wanted to come, giving out some bullshit excuse or another.

(Okay, so Mitsu-buchou's excuse of having to attend a family reunion was pretty legit, and maybe Monkey King really does have some heir-y things to do, and maybe Kuran-senpai and Mura-senpai kind of have a "date" in the botany garden (date wasn't the exact word they used but their red faces were a good enough indication in Echizen's opinion), and maybe Nichi-senpai's grandpa really would kill him if he doesn't show up at the dojo today, and maybe Renji-senpai...no, his excuse is a loud of shit, he just wants to hang out with Sada-senpai. She should just be grateful that Suke-senpai and Jirou-senpai were willing to come, even if they spent the entire game teasing her and joking around.)

"Thank you very much!" the two teams shout in unison, keeping their heads bowed before they fully straighten. Even from all the way up at the top of the stands, Echizen can see how exhausted they all are.

That was quite an intense match to happen in just forty minutes.

"We lost." Yosen's number four comes up to Hyuuga, wrapping the shorter teen's hand in his own enormous one.

"Thanks," Seirin's captain responds just as seriously, and Echizen has to muffle the second round of giggles. (She's really starting to think that something's wrong with her. Maybe she's sick. She's usually not this... _giggly_.)

The rest of the players move on to shake hands, a genuine show of good sportsmanship. At the edge of the group of milling teens, Kagami stands in front of Yosen's number twelve. From what she had heard on court during the game, the two are really close to each other-or at least, had been. Obviously, a lot had been riding on this game for the two of them. Echzien watches in slight interest, tuning out everything except what's being exchanged between the two of them.

"I lost, Taiga," number twelve speaks up, voice steady and not betraying anything of what he could possibly be feeling right now. "As per our promise, I won't call myself your brother anymore."

Echizen raises an eyebrow. Suke-senpai nudges her side, an obvious question at what's going down. She shrugs, Jirou-senpai's arm moving up and down with the motion of her shoulders. He shoots her a disgruntled look but doesn't bother following up with a verbal response.

There's a long pause before Kagami lets out a sigh, deflating just slightly. His head lowers, and Echizen low key wishes that he's facing her fully so she can see the expression on his face. "Yeah, I know." In heavy contrast with number twelve's voice, Kagami's is low and defeated, the complete opposite of what it should sound considering that he had just lead his team to victory in an extremely close game.

Movement attracts her attention from the two ex-brothers to where Kiyoshi is walking, approaching the enormous child stuck in a giant's body with a head of purple hair that puts the massive amounts of unnatural hair colors Echizen has seen throughout her entire lifetime to shame. She's gathered from context and relatively easy connections that this guy must be one of the Generation of Miracles. Considering his actions, Echizen has to say that this guy is probably the shittiest one so far, and that's saying something since she's met Seijūrō and Aomine.

She's crossing her fingers that the rest of the Generation of Miracles aren't like these three.

"Murasakibara," Kiyoshi calls. The aforementioned turns his head, face set into a sort of harsh impassiveness. "Let's play again sometime."

"What?" Murasakibara drawls after a moment's pause, hair fluttering about in the air as his head moves smoothly along with his body to face Kiyoshi. "No way." He reaches up, wrapping a fist around the elastic band holding his hair away from his face and pulling it out with a single, powerful yank. Echizen winces slightly at the sight of a few purple stands wrapped around his fingers-he probably pulled the roots out with the amount of unnecessary force in that single motion. "I'm quitting basketball." His tone is breezy and dismissive, as if his words hadn't just given his entire team a heart attack. "I played until the end because Muro-chin was so desperate, but it wasn't fun. It's already a boring enough sport. There's no reason to keep playing after I've lost." Murasakibara turns around, beginning to make his way off court when Kiyoshi finally speaks up.

"I see. I guess it can't be helped, then." Another pause. "Well, if that's how you _really_ feel."

Murasakibara, who had paused while Kiyoshi spoke, continues to walk away, as if he hadn't heard anything.

"Is he really going to quit?" During Kiyoshi's exchange with Murasakibara, number twelve had walked off, leaving Kagami and Tetsu standing next to each other, looking back at their teammate and Tetsu's ex-teammate.

"No way," Tetsu replies, voice bright and slightly hoarse from screaming at the end of the match. Echizen can only see the back of her head, and once more, she wishes that the girl would turn around so she can see her face, see whether the expression on it matches the tone of her voice. "After all, he doesn't truly hate basketball."

Even Echizen reserves some doubts about that, considering everything, but the confidence in Tetsu's voice is unshakable.

"We should start leaving now," Jirou-senpai remarks through the yawn he doesn't try at all to repress. "Maybe we could go meet up with Mitobe in Seirin's locker room."

Another thing had developed during the time Rakuzan's regulars had infringed upon Seirin's winter camp: Jirou-senpai and Mitobe have created a completely unexpected and extremely strange rapport with each other, one that makes Koganei cry in despair every time he watches them communicate-or rather, Jirou-senpai blabbers on and on with Mitobe interjecting every now and then with an enthusiastic hand motion that her orange-haired senpai somehow understands. Echizen doesn't fully understand it, but what she _does_ know is that whenever Mitobe's around, he immediately leaves her alone to go bother him, so it's a big plus in her book.

As the three turn to leave the little balcony area they had found to overlook the match, Echizen catches a glimpse of Murasakibara leaning over his bag on Yosen's bench, number twelve standing a safe distance away from him. Her ears are filled with the banter going on between Suke-senpai and Jirou-senpai so she isn't able to listen to whatever number twelve says to the giant, but she is able to see the way his shoulders shake, and how his head, covered by a fluffy white towel, bends slightly lower.

A small smile pulls at her lips as she quickens her stride in order to keep pace with her much taller (unfortunately) teammates.

She should know by now that Tetsu knows what she's talking about (well, most of the time).

* * *

Echizen finds Seirin walking through one of the main hallways towards their locker room.

She's about to run up and sling an arm over Tetsu's shoulders when the blue-haired girl, hanging at the back of the group, pauses. "Kagami-kun, do you have a minute?"

Echizen slows to a stop, sensing the more somber atmosphere as Kagami turns around. "What?"

The group continues walking, leaving the two behind. Neither seem to notice as Tetsu raises her head slightly, and _damn_ , Echizen would _kill_ to be able to see the opposite side of Tetsu's head because she can sense the bitterness and repressed moodiness as she states, I'm really mad right now."

Kagami immediately cowers back, crying, "Why?" Almost immediately, he straightens, assuming an aggressively defensive position. "What are you talking about? We won the game."

Tetsu squares her shoulders, and it would actually be slightly worrisome if the words that come next don't sound so petulant. "The problem is what happened after that. Are you happy with what happened with Himuro-san?"

_Himruo-san, Himuro...maybe Yosen's number twelve? He was the only person other than Tetsu who spoke with Kagami after the game._

Echzien maybe be bad with remembering people's names and faces, but she does have common sense.

Kagami's face contorts weirdly before he lets out a loud, angry sigh. "I can't help that. Win or lose, we're not brothers anymore. That's the promise we made."

"What are you two, idiots?"

Echizen isn't able to muffle the snort of laughter that escapes her at Tetsu's blunt statement, and both basketball players direct their attention towards her. She grins, following her original plan of action by bounding up to Tetsu and wrapping her arms around the other's pale neck, lightly hugging her to the side of her body despite the sixteen-year-old being taller than her (only by a centimeter or two!). "Wow, never thought I'd hear that come out of your mouth."

"Hello, Ryoma-chan," Tetsu greets Echizen cordially, lips twitching at the corners. "It's rude to eavesdrop on such conversations."

Echizen airily waves her hand. "Save me the flowery bullshit, Tetsu. It doesn't suit you."

"Really? I do believe that I pull it off quite well."

"You clearly haven't been listening to yourself speak."

"What are you two, devils?" Kagami interjects, looking mildly offended at both Tetsu's previous comment and the way the two girls are now ignoring him in favor of ribbing each other.

Tetsu glances away from Echizen to stare up at Kagami before reaching into the pocket of her jacket and pulling out a long chain looped through a silver ring. Kagami recognizes it if the way he stiffens and his eyes widen is anything to go by. He steps forward slightly before stopping, as if making a conscious effort from watching out and grabbing the necklace. "I told you to throw that out!"

Echizen lets her arm drop from around Tetsu's shoulders, wondering if she really did come in at the wrong time. As if reading her mind, Tetsu reaches out and lightly tugs at the sleeve of her windbreaker. Echizen pauses. "I couldn't throw it away. If anything, it sounded to me like you were asking me not to. I won't deny how you felt then, but is it really so difficult to continue being brothers and rivals?"

Kagami stares for a moment down at Tetsu's pale, slender hand before suddenly lurching forward, as if he were a puppet cut from his strings. "Thank you, Tetsuya!"

He immediately rushes away, heading outside in the opposite direction of his team. Tetsu and Echizen turn to watch his retreating back before the latter snorts again. Tetsu turns to look at her, a disapproving sort of frown pulling at her lips, and Echizen loses it.

She's still chortling away as Suke-senpai and Jirou-senpai make their ways toward the two, a sardonic grin twisting the former's lips while the latter...is being Jirou-senpai. "I'm starting to think you've gotten high on something, Ryo-chan."

Echizen laughs again even though there's nothing funny about that remark and the three unimpressed stare leveled onto her person tell her that her companions fully understand that. She quiets down, wiping at the few tears that had escaped as a result of her impromptu laughing session. "Me? High? Never."

"She cares too much about tennis to do something like that," Tetsu replies rather seriously, turning and quickly walking in order to catch up with the rest of her team. Echizen immediately follows after her, smile fading slightly. "Besides, I highly doubt that Ryoma-chan is the type of person to take, no matter the circumstances."

Echizen blinks before her smile reappears, if a bit brighter than before. "Aww, so sweet of you to say, Tetsu."

"It wasn't really a compliment, Ryoma-chan," Tetsu replies dryly as they turn into a corridor. The third door down is open, and Echizen can hear the sounds of Seirin's members. "Just a fact."

Echizen keeps her mouth shut this time.

When the four of them arrive at Seirin's locker room, the rest of the team members are already there, including Kagami. Echizen notes that Tetsu pauses slightly, raising an eyebrow in a silent question, one which Kagami responds to with a shake of his head.

All Echizen is wondering is how he got here first when he had been running in the opposite direction.

"There you are, Kuroko-chan!" Aida exclaims, the excitement in her eyes fading into confusion as Echizen, Suke-senpai, and Jirou-senpai follow the blue-haired girl into the room. "Oh...hello, I didn't realize that you guys would be coming."

"Sorry for intruding," Echizen offers, grinning at the team. "But you guys were amazing out there, you know. These two idiots who've never seen a game agree with me too."

"Hey!" Jirou-senpai protests, once again draping his arm over Echizen's shoulders. "I've watched basketball before!"

"And you never have since then," Suke-senpai counters, "so I guess that means you don't really like basketball."

Jirou-senpai flounders for a moment, spluttering as the other occupants of the crowded room laugh at the comical sight. "You guys are so mean to me."

"It's the Fuji-Echizen treatment," Suke-senpai replies, smile widening. "It's nothing personal, really."

Aida clears her throat, redirecting the focus back to her. "As entertaining as this is, I have some exciting news! We're having an interview!"

A moment of stunned silence follows her exclamation before Hyuuga gasps, "An interview?"

Aida nods emphatically, crossing her arms as her smile threatens to split her face in half. "Yep! Basketball Monthly. Meaning they have an eye on us too."

"I wonder what they'll ask?" Kagami murmurs, a thoughtful frown on his face (Echizen never thought that she would use the words "thoughtful" and "Kagami" in the same sentence together wihtout the word "is not" in between them).

Aida turns her head to answer him. "How the game felt...ambitions from here...stuff like that?"

"Seriously?" Hyuuga remarks, lowering his head to stared down at his lap. "I'm getting totally nervous."

"You're no good at that stuff, huh?" Kagami remarks, which only makes Hyuuga's head dip further.

"If you want my opinion," Echizen remarks casually from her position at the end of the benches, "don't brace for it. Newspeople are like dogs-they can smell fear and insecurity. Just act natural."

"I keep forgetting that you've done stuff like this..." Aida murmurs, eyeing Echizen contemplatively from her end. "Any other advice you can give?"

"I guess you guys should just relax. Interviews are meant to give you guys a persona beyond just watching you guys play on court for forty minutes. Be the way you normally are."

Hyuuga slowly nods before standing up, practically radiating determination. "Alright, let's be natural and relaxed, guy!"

A few minutes later, Seirin's regulars are lined up against a wall with Aida, Hyuuga, and Kiyoshi sitting in front of the others. Echizen stands next to one of the first years (for the life of her, she can never remember their names, which really isn't all that much of a surprise), sighing internally. "He's not relaxed at all."

"That's to be expected, since this is his first time," one of the players standing to the side responds sounding less exasperated and more amused.

"Good job," the interviewer remarks after the photographer takes a couple more pictures.

Aida immediately stutters out in a cringeworthy high-pitched voice, "T-T-Thank you! A Basketball Monthly interview is an honor!"

Echizen also internally face-palms.

Fortunately, the interviewer finds Aida's outburst endearing because all he does is chuckle and continue. "We're tired too. The Yosen game was really moving. But making it to the Winter Cup in the team's second year is amazing. Plus, continuing to advance this far!"

Every word of praise that comes out of his mouth seems to relax the players, and Aida is smiling a bit more genuinely this time as she practically chirps, "Thank you very much!"

The photographer lowers his camera, looking at Hyuuga as he asks, "Which game was most memorable for you guys?"

Hyuuga frowns slightly, turning to look at Aida. "Just one...I can't decide."

Mitobe nods in agreement, and Izuki murmurs, "Understatement."

The photographer laughs. "I figured."

Hyuuga turns to look back at him. "Well, if I had to give one, it'd be the Shutoku game."

"The last game of the Winter Cup qualifiers, huh?"

Hyuuga nods, a faraway look crossing over his face. "In the end, it was a draw...but I feel that Shutoku played like Shutoku, and we played like us. I'd like to play Shutoku again."

Echizen's eyes are drawn across the wide hallway, where a pair clad in orange uniforms pass by, one with raven hair and the other with green hair. It doesn't take a genius to figure out who they are, especially when the raven-haired one (Takao, Echizen remembers this time, Takao) remarks, "Sounds like they're talking about us."

The green-haired one replies, "Saying something like they want to play us again. I hope so."

"That draw...it was kinda like incomplete combustion." Echizen scoffs under her breath. What kind of a simile is that?

"We just didn't give it enough time."

"That's what I said!"

"We'll win in due time."

"Of course! But there's a big mountain to climb first."

"I have nothing to criticize our opponent for."

The two disappear, their voices fading away, and Echizen frowns slightly. There are only so many schools left. She's pretty sure that after beating Yosen, Seirin has advanced to quarter finals. From what she remembers of the match Shutoku and Seirin had, they were evenly matched.

What big mountain is there left for Shutoku to climb?

"Eagle Eye is another great skill."

Echizen's attention is drawn back to the interviewer.

"I guess," Izuki replies, slight embarrassment coloring his voice. "I heard there are many people in Uruguay who have it." Echizen furrows her eyebrows. She highly doubts that basketball skills have anything to do with nationality. "Eagle Eye, Uruguay...Eagle Eye, U-ruguay...Eagle Eye, U-gle Eye...there!"

This time, Echizen really does sigh.

Aida quickly scrabbles to recover, laughing awkwardly in the process. "Really, don't mind him."

Kiyoshi tilts his head. "If he's going that far, we can just say there are many Eagle Eyes in Uruguay."

"That's no good!" Hyuuga hisses back.

The interviewer decides to move on, turning towards Kagami. "And you, Kagami-kun? What was most memorable for you?"

"Huh?" The red-haired player jerks his head up, blinking at the camera lens for a moment before responding. "Well...I'm playing every game at full strength, so..."

The interviewer scribbles something in his notebook before turning back to Aida. "And what does the coach say?"

"Mmm..." She raises a finger to her chin in thought before raising her head, eyes bright. "I'd say the Touou game, in the sense that it raised the stage for Kagami-kun. I believed in him, but he honestly gave much better results than I imagined."

"How do you feel about their player, Aomine?" the interviewer asks Kagami, probably a bit excited at the actual, concrete information he has now.

"I'll win against him next time...for sure."

"Didn't you win?"

It must be some sort of freak coincidence, Echzien decides as she catches sight of a flash of pink and dark blue down the hallway. When she glances that way, she finds the pink-haired Touou girl sitting in a chair with Aomine himself standing in front of the vending machine, bending down to pick up a drink. The girl giggles, lacing her fingers on top of her lap. "He won but said he'll win next time. He's humble."

"He's not humble," Aomine grunts, pulling the tab of his drink. "Just stupid."

"And what about you, Dai-chan?"

Aomine takes a sip before answering, voice more somber and softer than Echizen's ever heard it before. "I lost, but I'll win next time. That's all."

"That's basically saying the same thing."

Even from all the way down the hall, Echizen catches sight of Aomine's smirk before her turns and walks away, leaving the pink girl to jump up and rush after him with a whiny, "Dai-chan!"

"How does making it to the semifinals feel?" the interview is asking Mitobe when Echzien tunes back in.

Mitobe blinks, and before Koganei can even think of translating, Jirou-senpai is chiming in gleefully, "He's saying that he's very proud!"

Koganei looks utterly devastated even as the interviewer blinks. "I-I see..." Quickly recovering, he scribble something down again. "Your next opponent is likely to be Kaijo High School..."

Mitobe's lips move but no sound is emitted. This time, Koganei all but screams in order to drown out Jirou-senpai, "We had a practice game last time, so he's nervous about our first real game. That's what he says. Suck it, Akutagawa!"

The interviewer smiles awkwardly. "O-Okay..." Snapping his notebook closed, he glances at Aida. "Thank you. I guess that's it-"

The photographer suddenly leans in. "What about Kuroko-chan? We can't leave out her comments."

"Oh!" The interviewer reopens his notebook, raising a pencil. "That was thoughtless of me."

Tetsu's expression is priceless as the two reporters are suddenly both looking directly at her.

"Every game was amazing."

"T-Thank you so much..."

"You were active in supporting the team. In the Shutoku game...In the Kirisaki Daīchi game...In the Touou game...And in the Yosen game just now..."

"Well, for me, um..." She seems to flounder for a moment, glancing from side to side at her teammates, looking for guidance. She finds what she's looking for because she looks back up at the interviewer, a small smile on her face as she confidently continues, "I'm playing every game at full strength, so..."

Echizen's eyes catch on a flash of purple, and she glances towards the end of the hallway just in time to see Murasakibara's large frame disappear around the corner.

It's official. Tetsu is a people magnet.

(And Echizen is just one of the many attracted to her.)


	29. Twenty Ninth: Dimensions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me after trying to maneuver how to write this chapter after royally messing up the timeline in the last chapter:
> 
> \\(X_X)/
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Tetsu holds Kagami back as the team leaves, waving away any questioning glances thrown their way. "Kagami-kun, I thought you were going to see Himuro-san."

Kagami lets out a frustrated off, smoothing his hand through his hair. "I was going to, but Coach threatened to put me in the Boston Crab Hold if I didn't go to the locker room immediately over text."

Tetsu still has that disapproving non-look on her face, but it fades a little. "Ah. That must be why you got there before us."

"How terrifying is this 'Boston Crab Hold?'" Echizen questions, draping an arm over Tetsu's shoulders. Suke-senpai and Jirou-senpai had left about halfway through the interview, the latter because he realizes that the bed would probably be much more entertaining than watching strangers fielding questions, and the former because...Echizen would rather not really know the reason why Suke-senpai does anything, to be quite honest.

"Think of the most _terrifying_ thing in the world," Kagami states with the most serious expression on his face, "Then throw it away because the Boston Crab Hold is now that thing."

Echizen raises an eyebrow. "Wow, so abuse is less terrifying than this thing?" Tetsu stiffens under her arm, and Echizen laughs, lightly squeezing her shoulder. That was definitely a bad idea. "Don't get all ruffled, it was a joke."

"Abuse isn't a joking matter," Tetsu replies in a clipped tone, and then she sends a frosty _we'll-talk-about-this-later_ look at Echizen. She's definitely more assertive, this girl. Maybe it's the high from winning. Echizen wasn't even a part of the game, and she still feels buzzed. Something seems to catch her eye, because her eyes slide away from Echizen's face to look over her shoulder. Echizen turns just in time to catch sight of Yosen's number twelve (Himuro is his name, right?) opening a door and leaving the corridor. "That being said, I'm sure that Himuro-san has all sorts of feelings about this, and you, too, Kagami-kun. But deep in his heart, he still understands. I saw him walk outside just now. Please go and properly make amends now."

It doesn't take much more than that for Kagami to push past the two of them, rushing towards the door that still hasn't fully swung closed after Himuro left through it. He disappears in a flash of red, and Echizen nudges Tetsu playfully in the side despite the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Wow, that was pretty deep. If basketball doesn't work it, I'd totally hire you as my therapist."

Tetsu shoots her a dry look before she briskly makes her way down the hallway in the opposite direction of where her team had been heading. Echizen blinks, slightly surprised, before quickly following after the blue-haired girl, a grin pulling at her lips. "Whoa, when'd you get so ballsy? Isn't eavesdropping on conversations a bad thing?"

"I'm just repaying a favor," Tetsu replies, amusement laced in her words, and Echizen rolls her eyes, slipping through the door after her. "Besides, you're just as curious as I am."

"Two wrongs don't make a right," Echizen laughs, dodging the pointy elbow that Tetsu sends her way. "Are you sure _you're_ not the high one?"

"Positive. Let's hurry, Kagami-kun has probably already caught up to Himuro-san."

The door leads out to a side that Echizen has never seen before (considering that she's never been here before in the first place, that makes sense), but Tetsu seems pretty well-versed with the area. She strides forward confidently, and Echizen is left to follow after her, pulling the thin windbreaker she has on closer to her body.

(She should probably start remembering to wear thicker jackets after giving herself hypothermia these past few nights.)

Echizen's ears catch on the sound of pounding footsteps, and she makes the assumption that those belong to Kagami. Tetsu must be following them. She's a bit surprised that her companion managed to hear them before she herself did, but then again, Tetsu's been working hard at refining her other senses-the most prevalent being her sense of hearing.

Really, in another world, Tetsu would've been an amazing tennis player.

The two girls up their paces, wanting to catch the two boys at the beginning of their conversation, but what neither of them expect to hear is, "What are you doing? Who the _hell_ are you?"

Echizen shoots a glance at Tetsu, who mirrors her before they break into sprints, hoping to reach the corner Kagami's figure had disappeared around before it's-well, whatever _it_ is-too late.

"Hey, let her go!"

A flinch of fear shudders down Echizen's body, but she brutally stamps it down. Still, it shimmers in the corner of her mind, as if taunting her. Something's going on, something's happening, and the situation is really all too reminiscent of bad, bad memories.

They finally manage to reach the corner, and as they burst into the light, Echizen feels like she's been punched in the stomach. Tetsu inhales sharply.

Kagami stands in front of them, facing a boy with black dreads in a red jacket, casually holding up a struggling blonde lady by the throat with one hand, as if it doesn't take any effort at all. Himuro is hunched over to the side on his knees, clutching his stomach. Tremors wrack his body.

"You...You're the one who just won against Atsushi." It's more a statement than a question coming from a smooth, cultured voice that doesn't fit in with the picture of mania before her. He doesn't seem to have noticed the two of them standing behind Kagami yet. "I was watching...You're pretty good."

Kagami recoils slightly, fists clenching and unclenching at the side. The blonde lady wheezes out in a strained voice, "For starters...let go, you stupid brat!"

She kicks her leg back, bringing it up and swinging it around wildly. It lacks any sort of finesse, but it's enough of a surprise to cause Dreads to let go of her, smoothly avoiding the wild kick. "Whoa there. Scary. That ain't a girl's kick."

The blonde lady crouches on the ground, sucking it large mouthfuls of air before coughing into her wrist.

"Alex!" Kagami shouts, and the familiar name jogs Echizen's memory. Now that she thinks about it, the woman _does_ look familiar...a _lot_ like Kagami's mentor...which would probably also explain Himuro's presence. The fact that she knows the woman only makes the entire situation all the more horrific. "Damn you...!"

Kagami rushes forward, his arm already coming up to take a swing when Tetsu lurches forward suddenly, grabbing hold of Kagami's arm and yanking back with all her might. If not for the element of surprise, Tetsu's move wouldn't have been nearly as effective, but Kagami still looks like he's about to introduce his fist to Dreads' face at any moment. Echizen quickly grabs his other arm, digging her feet into the ground and pulling back with all her might.

"Stop it, Taiga!"

At the sound of Himuro's voice, Kagami immediately comes to a halt. "Tatsuya?"

Himuro pushes himself up, gingerly holding his ribs. Bruises are already blooming on his pale face, and Echizen winces at the sight of them. "Don't join in. It won't be just you responsible if they find out players were fighting here."

"What the hell happened?"

"He picked a fight out of nowhere. He tried to hit on Alex, so I tried to stop him, and this happened."

"What the hell's with that? You're saying that basketball players can punch people on a whim like that?"

Echizen still hasn't let go of Kagami's arm, but Tetsu does, probably having deemed him relatively calmed down enough. She steps out from behind Kagami, ignoring the warning, "Tetsuya!" he shouts after her.

Dreads' eyes widen before a smirk pulls at his lips, and another shiver runs down Echizen's spine. She's never seen someone so...animalistic, she supposes, is the word to say. Quite frankly, it's terrifying. "Well, well, what do we have here? Kuroko Tetsuya herself, the Phantom Bitch of the Generation of Pussies!" He laughs throwing his arms out wide. "What a surprise to see you here!"

Tetsu doesn't flinch at the words that come out of his mouth, instead advancing forward until she's about a couple centimeters away from him.

"Oi, now, you finally willing to give me that kiss?"

This time, Echizen recoils in disgust, but just barely. Phantom sensations of fingers running down her skin tickle at the edges of her consciousness, and she lets go of Kagami's sleeve to pull her windbreaker even closer to her body than before.

Whether or not Tetsu would've answered the sleazy question will never be known because at that moment, a basketball comes flying through the air, at enough of a high velocity that it would've knocked Dreads down had he not caught it just in time. Dreads' eyes widen slightly in the way that never fails to ice Echizen's bones as he slowly and painfully enunciates, "You've got nerve...to throw a ball at me out of nowhere."

"Kise?" Kagami lurches forward, startled. Echizen follows his line of sight, eyes landing on a slightly familiar but not really looking guy with blonde hair and...golden eyes.

Huh. She's never seen eyes like her own on anyone other than family.

"Hey there," the blonde remarks coldly, hands stuffed into the pockets of his jacket.

"You know this guy?" Kagami demands, pointing a shaky finger towards Tetsu and Dreads, the former of which having backed off with Kise's arrival.

Kise shifts on his feet, eyes cutting towards Dreads. "Maa, you could say that. He slowly begins to walk forward, towards Kagami. "He's Haizaki Shougo. He was a starter at Teiko before I joined the team. And...he's the one who was forced to retire from the team by Akashicchi."

(If not for the gravity of the situation, Echizen would've laughed at the weird nickname for Seijūrō.)

"He had talent, but couldn't stay away from violence as you can see and vanished as if I replaced him. Or he should've. What kind of curious turn of events is this?"

Haizaki chuckles, lightly throwing the basketball up and catching it. "There's no real reason. It ain't revenge either. If anything...I'm just killing time." Tetsu stiffens in front of Haizaki, who notices, chuckling as he reaches out with his free hand and lightly grazes her cheek. She slaps the hand away, taking a step back. "You can't blame a guy for trying. I don't care about basketball at all...but after I quit, they started making a huge fuss about something called the Generation of Miracles." He tosses the ball to the side, shaking his hand out as it bounces away. A predatory grin pulls at his lips, one that reveals his canines and _damn it_ , normally Echizen wouldn't give a flying fuck about someone trying to intimidate her but everything about him reminds her of that person, from his actions to the way he speaks to the glee that is currently lighting his face. "So I thought I'd grab the seat back again from one of you five." His loose hand clenches tightly as he mimes squeezing something, and the implications are way too strong for even an _idiot_ like _Kagami_ to not understand what he means. "I was actually a starter, so if I take one down, nobody can complain. More so if you're my next opponent, Ryouta. Since you never once won against me...and never settled the score before you got named the fifth man, yeah?"

Kagami's breath hitches, and Tetsu tenses slightly. It must be a big deal, then, that this Kise hadn't won against Haizaki.

"Kagamicchi." Again with the weird names. First Murasakibara, and now this guy. What the hell is up with the Generation of Miracles? "There's one thing I need to confirm...who's that beautiful blonde?"

The atmosphere is immediately broken. Tetsu lets out a nearly inaudible sigh, and Kagami snarls, "Now's not the time! She's my mentor and Tatsuya's!"

Kise's eyes widen. "For real!"

"For real!"

Maybe this is an ability all boy sportsmen have, Echizen muses. To derail so completely off topic that it's more pathetic than anything else.

"I really hate to say this..." Kise murmurs, staring down at the ground, and suddenly the atmosphere is tense again. "...but can you stand down for now?"

Surprisingly, it's Tetsu who lets out the first word of complaint. "Kise-kun-"

Kise raises a hand, stopping Tetsu before she can even begin. "I kind of get the situation...but I really want you to let me play him in my next game." Kise drops his hand, stepping forward with his eyes boring into Tetsu's small frame. "I'll take responsibility and kick his ass."

"Hmm?" Haizaki drawls, head tilting backwards slightly.

"I don't care about the 'Generation of Miracles' name...I think I told you that before, Kagamicchi. Even so, I won't sell it cheap and just _give_ it to your likes, Shougo-kun."

Haizaki chuckles, lips pulling back into a smile resembling a sneer. "I ain't buyin' it. I told you, Ryouta. I want it, so I'm tellin' ya to hand it over, baakaa."

Echizen is suddenly reminded of an ironically named, bushy-eyebrowed hypocrite. (Maybe if she introduces them, they'll get along. Then again...does she really _want_ them to get along?)

"Haizaki-kun," Tetsu pipes up, drawing attention to her. The back of her head is facing Echizen, but she's sure that the other girl is looking calmly up at Haizaki. "More than anything, basketball is a sport to be earned, not given."

"Hah?" Haizaki sneers, lifting his chin and staring down is crooked nose at Tetsu. "This is why I never liked you. Always so damn self-righteous. The only good thing about you is your body. Guess that's why the Generation of Pussies stuck with you for so long, huh?"

Tetsu just barely flinches, and Kagami roars a protest. Echizen, though, feels her blood boil, and then she's stepping out from behind Kagami, stalking up to Haizaki and jabbing a finger at his sternum. The fact that her eyes reach chest-level only pisses her off more. "You have no damn right to say things like that, Haizaki Shitgo. Apologize to Tetsu right now."

Haizaki blinks in slight surprise before a grin stretches his lips, teeth glinting in the moonlight. "What's this? Golden eyes and emerald-tinted black hair? You must be Echizen Ryoma."

Thrown for a loop, Echizen pauses, finger frozen in the air. "Uhh...what?"

Haizaki laughs, and the chilling sensation is back, colder than ever because his smooth voice is right in front of her. "I've heard a lot about you, you know. Jin sends his regards."

Her eyes narrow at the mention of her silver-haired friend who meddles way too much in her business. "You know Akutsu Jin?"

He raises an eyebrow. "No one on the bad side of town _hasn't_ heard of him. Really, I can't believe that _Jin_ of all people is talking to someone like _you_. Just goes to show how whipped he is, huh?"

Echizen scowls, jabbing her finger at his sternum again. "Fuck you. Jin would never hang out with a greaseball like you."

"You clearly don't know him that well, then, do you?" Haizaki laughs, this patronizing little chuckle that sends sparks flying down her spine and frying her nerve ends. "It's _you_ who's the odd one in this situation, not me. Quite frankly, I'm interested in you. You've got Jin wrapped around your little pinky, you know? That time you collapsed on the street courts, he ran to you so fast I swear he gave himself whiplash. Didn't even swing by to pick up the pack he'd been smoking, and that stuff is expensive nowadays, mind you. Not even that chibi of his can get him to do things like that."

Echizen's finger drops to her side, a sense of foreboding curling deep inside the pit of her stomach. Her tongue darts out to wet her suddenly dry lips, and she's even more repulsed and scared when Haizaki's eyes follow the movement, the leer on his face telling her that he knows full well how uncomfortable he's making her. "You...how did you know about that?"

Haizaki stares at her for a long moment before his leer becomes more of a smirk. Shoving his hands into his pockets, her turns around, making his way past Kise and down the steps. "Maa...maybe you should ask Jin that."

He leaves with a cheerful, "Ja ne," and then he's gone, his back fading into the night.

Tetsu grabs Echizen's hand, and the knot of fear and horror and absolute _terror_ loosens-but just barely.

* * *

Alex watches as Kuroko leads Echizen back into the stadium, the latter leaning on the former for support. Alex doesn't know Echizen-she barely remembers the girl, only registering her as a familiar face from the celebration party she had barged into, but even Alex can tell that something's wrong with Echizen, who doesn't seem like the type of girl to be felled so easily by words.

Himuro, in an attempt at breaking the heavy atmosphere, clears his throat. "Why'd you come here, Taiga?"

Kagami blinks, turning his head to look away from his partner to look at his ex-brother (or maybe they're still brothers? Who knows anymore?). He takes a deep breath before shaking his head, a wane smile pulling at his lips. "Sorry. We'll talk another time. For sure!"

Himuro nods just slightly in acknowledgement of the sentiment, even as Kagami whirls around to face Kise, who's slowly making his way back to where he had come from. "Kise!"

The blonde turns towards Kagami, and for a moment, they're all stunned into silence by the imposing figure he cuts, lit from the back by the full moon. Kagami raises his chin slightly. "Don't you lose! No matter what!"

A smirk pulls at Kise's lips, even as he turns back around. "Of course!"

* * *

Kuroko finds herself following after Echizen who's speed walking full tilt into the sports park, but she doesn't particularly mind. Sure, she'll miss watching the Kaijo-Fukuda Sogo match but Echizen's currently extremely distressed and a trouble magnet. Besides, Aida will probably record it, so there's no problem there.

Echizen doesn't have her rackets with her, but Kuroko still dutifully follows her to the tennis courts, where Echizen drops onto the service line, spreading her arms and legs and looking up at the sky. It's a beautiful night, with no clouds whatsoever to obscure the full moon. Looking down at Echizen, Kuroko is hit yet again with how _beautiful_ the girl is, and how _young_ she is.

Golden eyes are wide and glistening under the moonlight, for once looking like they belong to a thirteen-year-old instead of a child who grew up too fast.

Kuroko slowly sits down next to her, pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them. It's December, cold, and Kuroko's only wearing her jersey with a jacket over it. Goosebumps are already rising up from her skin, but she keeps her eyes on Echizen, waiting her out.

After a while, Kuroko takes pity and sighs, a subtle indication that she's about to speak. "You owe me."

"What?"

Kuroko chuckles, tilting her head up to look at the sky. She wonders what Echizen sees up there. "I gave you a little bit of myself at that onsen. Don't you think it's your turn now?"

The silence stretches out between them before Echizen snorts. Her voice sounds suspiciously watery as she replies, "Whoever said that you're nice is lying. Kuroko Tetsuya is a cruel, cruel person."

Kuroko smiles, not saying anything, this time determined to wait Echizen out. It doesn't take too long.

"Tennis is really hard sometimes. Being related to two amazing players who both ended their careers early makes it even harder. I've always had to work for everything. People call me a prodigy, you know, a genius. All hail Mary, the _goddess_ of tennis has touched down on Earth." A bitter laugh escapes her lips, and her fingers curl. "Like all my skill comes from who I was born to instead of what I did for myself."

Kuroko hums noncommittally, feeling her heart going out to the younger girl. Being denied acknowledgement of her hard work-that's something that Kuroko understands very, very well.

"A lot of people look up to you, and most of the time, what they want to see has nothing to do with tennis. I can win as many matches as they want, but that's never enough. They want to see me excel in all my classes, and they want to see me be a girl and be pretty and sweet, and-and they paint me out to be this ideal person that I can never really be. Then they act all disappointed when I fail to meet their expectations. It just-it's kind of disheartening, to know that people don't think that tennis is enough.

"And don't even get me _started_ on the people who _do_ think that tennis is everything that I am. Qualifying for the men's section of the US Open wasn't enough, and opening Teni Muhō no Kiwami wasn't enough. Nope-I'm not worth anything until I've won all the Grand Slams and beaten every single tennis player in the world, and even then, that won't be enough for them.

"So to half of the world, tennis is all I'm worth, and to the other half, tennis doesn't mean anything. And I don't even have a say in anything."

Echizen pauses to take a deep breath, and Kuroko hesitantly reaches out to gently comb through her hair. It's grown longer, she realizes, since the first time she had ever seen Echizen. She kind of likes an Echizen with shorter hair, though. Maybe she should get her own hair cut.

"There's...something. I just-I just don't know if-if I can..."

Echizen trails off, and Kuroko gently shushes her, having an idea of what she wants to say, and fully understanding. There are still things that the other girl doesn't know, after all, and Kuroko's not about to play the hypocrite. "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. Just say whatever you want to say, and whatever you're comfortable with saying."

Echizen blinks, and Kuroko's nice enough to ignore the tear that escapes her lashes and slides down a cheek awash in pale light. "I don't think you understand how amazing you are, Kuroko Tetsuya. You just...you know what to say, and you know what to do, and you understand me the way no one does. Even Suke-senpai...you know things about me that _he_ doesn't know, and it's just...thank you. Thank you, Tetsu, thank you so much for being a part of my life."

Kuroko smiles gently, and she lightly taps the tip of Echizen's nose. "What are friends for if not to blackmail each other into talking about their personal problems, huh?"

Echizen laughs, and then Kuroko's laughing, and if tears are running down both their cheeks, neither of them notice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More exposition because that's what the twenty ninth chapter calls for, obviously.


	30. Thirtieth: Spoils

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of cussing because Haizaki. He's real intense and maybe OOC? I'm not sure, but I kinda like him this way. Maybe he'll be an actual antagonist this time. Who knows?
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Haizaki's not a nice person.

There's no denying that truth, and he's the firmest believer of all. It starts from the first time he pushed a girl off the edge of the slide when he was six-years old and goes on to when he cornered Kuroko Tetsuya in the girls' locker room in the middle of his first year of middle school, demanding a kiss on the lips and then a kiss on other places, hand slipping all the while further up the edge of silky skin barely hidden by her uniform skirt, to going out of his way seeking out Echizen Ryoma despite Jin telling him not to.

He's honestly surprised that his cousin thought he could control Haizaki in the first place.

 _Jin's gone soft_ , Haizaki muses as he swaggers down the corridors, a sneer and a flick of his wrist all that is needed to scatter the pests that all give him looks because of his dreads. The boy's out frolicking with some hot shot Rakuzan girl and never even has time for another smoke or another joint or another snort. It's all _Echizen this_ and _Echizen that_. Like she's his mother, but Jin's actually _listening_ to the flat-chested hoe.

Haizaki doesn't give nearly as many fucks as Jin's real mother does. Jin's perpetual absence just means that Haizaki's got nobody to foot the excessive bills he creates on nights out-which is pretty much every night. His teammates are starting to run dry too.

So maybe Haizaki's bitter because fucking Echizen Ryoma is hogging all the attention of his piggy bank.

Though to be honest, he's a bit put off that the slut's hanging around basketball players of Miracle caliber. "Fucking obsessed with tennis" is Jin's description all while sporting those whipped moon eyes of his, practically begging for her pussy on a silver platter. Instead he gets a foot to the face, but that almost always ends with a bottle of booze shared between them without caring about how dirty each others' mouths probably are, so the bruises are usually worth it.

No matter. Now he can go tell Jin that he's seen his side bitch, and that the sun doesn't actually rise out of her ass.

But first he's gotta beat this blonde-haired fuck into the ground.

Ryouta hasn't changed at all. Still as self-absorbed as ever, and just as oblivious and air-headed too. Like he's completely free of all the mind fuckery the Generation of Cunts have been going around spreading like it's discounted goodwill from the church down the street.

Haizaki doesn't really have a problem with that, though. If nothing else, he's just damn anxious to getting around to absolutely _destroying_ Kise Ryouta.

It's not for any other reason than just pure amusement. Definitely _not_ because of some petty want to prove that Haizaki shouldn't have been the one taken off.

He doesn't need fucking _validation_.

"H-Haizaki-kun-"

"Shut the fuck up," Haizaki sneers at the wimpy captain who's really that in name and name only. Shucking off his jacket, Haizaki tosses it over the guy's head before stepping out onto court. Ryouta's already out on court, looking primed and ready to go, and it's not the first time that Haizaki wonders whether Ryouta's kitty cat skill extends to porn as well.

Then again, if Haizaki really wanted to fuck a guy, it'd be Hanamiya Makoto. Anyone with those eyebrows would be into some pretty kinky shit.

He lets a lecherous grin stretch his face, eyes roving over Ryouta for a moment before tilting his head back slightly, never once looking away from the stone-faced kitten as he drawls to the assembly of half-assed humans behind him, "Now...don't go holding back on me, idiots,"

The captain says something but Haizaki's not even listening, instead dragging his eyes back up to Ryouta's face. His keeper is walking up to his side, shooting a wary glance in Haizaki's direction before unhesitatingly jamming his elbow into Ryouta's stomach. Haizaki whistles lowly, and the guy glares at him again before dragging Ryouta further down the court, away from Haizaki, as if he can't hear every word they're saying.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You looked a little stiff. I don't know what kind of history you two share, but just play your basketball. Don't let him screw with your pacing."

And there it is, the traditional "I'm going to spout a bunch of bullshit in order to sound deep and all knowing so that I can get off to all the respect you're showing me later tonight" thing that Haizaki has witnessed many a captain execute. Of course, there's the occasional regular player, the one who comes to mind immediately being Tetsuya, who has the god complex of all god complexes as far as basketball is concerned.

Then again, that title may be reserved for her just as self-proclaimed omnipotent cousin, Akashi Seijūrō, who very nearly beat Haizaki within an inch of his life when he walked in on Haizaki getting handsy with Tetsuya, blowing up like the skank hadn't been _begging_ for it.

"Your basketball," what does that even mean? He constantly hears the phrase tossed around, and it pisses him off. If Ryouta even has a "basketball," like the entire sport's under his possession, then he's really just doing what he does best-copying Haizaki, but Haizaki's always better than him in that regard.

He turns, tuning out all the ridiculousness going on around him in order to move over to his regular position. A couple more seconds of getting organized pass before the referee blows the whistle and throws the ball up, the tipoff beginning.

Kaijo grabs the ball first, their center slamming the ball towards number ten, who throws straight to his captain. Haizaki doesn't bother hiding his scoff and the flash of white teeth as he easily keeps up with Ryouta, leaving no openings for the bitch to slip through (pretty accurate of the fuck's sex life, really).

Kaijo's captain drives past his mark, tossing the ball behind to number eight who passes around his block straight into his captain's hands, who immediately makes a layup.

"Here it is!"

"Kaijo scored first!"

Haizaki chuckles, watching out of the corners of his eyes as they jog across court. "Hmm...that's about it?"

The ball is thrown across court in a fast break, and Haizaki grabs hold of it, dribbling down, not hesitating as Kaijo's captain rushes in front to block. He easily replicates the same movement from before, in then Ryouta's there, bearing in on the other side. "I'm not letting you go!"

"Hah?" It's a sardonic sort of laugh right before Haizaki ups the ante, putting on speed and then leaving the blonde sucker in the dust. _This is going nowhere. No fun in_ this _._

Haizaki barrels down the court, and it's either get out of the way or get trampled for both sides. There's nothing more fun than watching people scramble out of his way, faces pinched into pitifully terrified expressions. "You're in the way! Get lost!"

The exclamation's more for effect than for anything else, and then he's soaring up in the air for an epic dunk, and this is _way_ too easy, come on, _Ryouta_ , you were the one sayng that he'd make Haizaki pay-

And then a hand swings in from nowhere, pushing the ball out of his grip and out-of-bounds.

Haizaki drops to the ground, and Ryouta gives him this inscrutable look that _really_ pisses Haizaki off because why the _fuck_ is a damn Barbie doll pretending like he has both the brains and the guts to face against _Haizaki Shougo_ of all people?

Haizaki turns, and then his eyes are on the first Fukuda player he can see. He stalks forward. "It's 'cause you got in the way that I was late to the step off." He raises a hand and the sound of his palm solidly connecting with the bald fucker's cheek isn't anywhere near satisfying.

In the next play, the bald bitch has the ball stolen from him, and Haizaki sneers as he marks Kaijo's captain, all loose limbed and slouched body. The kid seems hell bent on lecturing as he catches the ball, racing straight for Haizaki. "I'll tell you one thing. A senpai is to be respected!"

Haizaki's lips quirk, and then his steps are matching the fuck's own, backing up and keeping pace until the ball is bounced in between his legs and Kaijo's captain is passing him. Haizaki snorts, covering the distance in a few short steps and jumping up to block the shot. "Don't lecture me, baakaa."

"Who's the idiot?" he sneers, and before Haizaki can react, the ball is thrown to the side and Ryouta's caught it, jumping behind Haizaki and dunking the ball into the basket behind his back.

"'I'll tell you one thing,' huh?"

The ball exchanges hands a few times, with Haizaki staying out as he keeps Ryouta in check. The bald fuck eventually scores with a scoop shot-pathetic, but effective.

Ryouta follows up with a nice little show of his kitty skills, copying the baldy's execution to a T. Haizaki isn't nearly as impressed as everyone else seems to be, but then again, it'd not like Ryouta is all that impressive in the first place. Speaking of him, the blonde bitch is turning towards him, eyes slanted in what's probably supposed to be an intimidating way. "Why don't you cone at me more seriously? Or was that just talk earlier?"

Haizaki rols his shoulders, more an instinctual thing than a necessary one. "Seriously, it's impossible to get along with you after all." Mock disappointment drips from his words as he prepares for the killing blow. "'Cause your style is awfully similar to mine, you know?"

Nothing on his face, but Haizaki knows that he's hit the mark.

The ball is thrown in, and Haizaki catches hold of it, raising an eyebrow when Ryouta, instead of his captain who despite all his talk of respecting elders doesn't even reach eye-level, is the one who marks him. "I'll stop you this time!"

"Let's see..." Haizaki tilts his head in mock pondering, hands and body already knowing how to perfectly replicate and adjust the move that Kaijo's captain had pulled out of his ass before. "Was it like this?"

He laughs, feet following the driving force he had ingrained into the forefront of his mind before bouncing the ball in between Ryouta's legs.

Without much resistance, he scores the shot, amusement strumming through his veins.

Ooh, this is _so_ much fun.

"It's like he's trying to say he can do everything Kise can."

"Trying to spite us? What an ass."

 _Your engine's finally revved up, eh?_ Haizaki laughs again, straightening up.

Kaijo's captain starts with the ball, and Haizaki keeps close to him, even through his feints until he's shifting to one side, eyes locked on a player behind Haizaki when suddenly the ball shoots out to the opposite side, landing in number five's hands. He throws the ball up, foregoing conventional textbook form in order for the ball to soar up and practically float into the basket, almost no spin on it whatsoever.

A lot of time must've been put into that.

"You know...that's pretty good."

"Blitz!"

The ball is thrown across in a fast break, aimed on the complete opposite side of Haizaki, but that only makes him run faster to steal the ball out of the air. "I don't need weaklings scurrying around!" The ball slams into his hand, and he cuts a scathing sneer towards the absent-minded fuck who initiated the counterattack. "I said to pass them all to me, didn't I?"

Haizaki dribbles the ball, pulling up when Ryouta blocks his way, arms spread out like he wants a fucking hug.

"Set it back for a second, Haizaki!" shouts the whimpy captain, and Haizaki scowls.

"Don't be talking in your sleep!" They're no fun, really. Haizaki's eyes slide over Ryouta's shoulders, landing on the guy from before, the one with the weird shot. "That thing earlier..." His lips peel backm revealing enamel to the fluorescent lighting. "It's mine now!"

Haizaki pulls his arms back, smile widening as he releases it and the ball slowly floats its way to the basket.

He chuckles as it falls in, and Kaijo's faces all gape in unappealing shock. He brings his thumb up to his lips, tongue slipping out and swiping across the pad. If they're not going to be any fun, he might as well make his own then, huh?

* * *

Six minutes into the second quarter, and the score is 24-30 in Haizaki's favor.

It's simple enough to steal all the balls-and it's even more exciting to watch the way Kaijo's captain's face grows tighter and more frustrated every time his drive is broken, and how the guy whose shot Haizaki had pillaged goes tenser when he misses his shot.

Even though the rebound is stolen and the ball finds its way back into the basket.

"Hmm..." Haizaki plays the rebound before smirking. "That's pretty good."

The next shot bounces off the rim, and Haizaki laughs as he sets one foot forward and then explodes off the ground, reaching the ball first despite leaving later and throwing the ball across court. He snorts when what should've been a simple basket ends up turning into a rebound. Of _course_ the idiots would miss and easy shot like that. Having covered the distance easily enough, he jumps again, reaching the ball before the one who had the jump pillaged from can. "All mine!"

He slams the ball back into the basket.

One minute left in the second quarter, and the score is 28-37 in Haizaki's favor.

The ball is thrown in, and Ryouta catches it. He immediately shifts back when Haizaki marks him, and he snorts. "Gonna avoid challenging me again?" How _boring_. "Maa, I don't really care."

Ryouta tenses slightly, tilting his chin down. "Who said such a thing?"

He rushes forward, breaking past Haizaki's guard in his split moment of surprise, but Haizaki easily catches up, keeping pace until Ryouta sharply breaks, pullingout a spin move and then dunking the ball over Haizaki's head.

This is already shaping up to what Haizaki had expected it to be. That still doesn't stop him from enjoying it as he dribbles the ball down court. "That thing just now is mine too."

Another spin, another dunk.

"Really..." Ryouta remarks, "We're similar down to the bone."

Haizaki glances towards him. "Oh, right. You don't know about this."

"Huh?"

"I did say that we were similar, but I'm not a cheap imitation like you."

Ryouta's eyes narrow, and he's as close to bristling as Haizaki's ever seen. "What was that?"

"Maa..."

The game starts again, and the guy whose shot is no longer his grabs the ball. "Okay...this time for sure!"

"Ah...nope, nope. It's useless no matter how many times you try. That's not your move anymore."

The ball bounces off the rim and Haizaki catches the rebound. Just to be spiteful (because that's pretty much all he is), he does the same shot, pulling his arms down and back before swinging them up, the ball sailing up and floating into the basket the way it shoul. "This is mine now."

The buzzer sounds. At the end of the second quarter, the score is 30-42 in Haizaki's favor.

"Won't sell it cheap, huh?" Haizaki laughs. "The Generation of Miracles? Don't make me laugh. Sayin' that at this level. That was so easy, it didn't even kill some time."

His tongue darts out again and he licks his thumb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kise Ryouta: 7  
> Hayakawa Mitsuhiro: 10  
> Kasamatsu Yukio: 4  
> Moriyama Yoshitaka: 5  
> Kobori Kouji: 8
> 
> Haizaki Shougo: 6  
> Mochizuki Kazuhiro: 11  
> Ishida Hideki: 4


	31. Thirty First: Elucidations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Kuroko isn't sure how long they've spent lying on the tennis court, but it's long enough for her cheeks to start numbing from the cold air pressing against her drying tear streaks. She had switched her phone off about half an hour earlier, which had been exploding with an excessive amount of messages, phone calls, and voice mails.

Ryoma-chan, meanwhile, seems to have fallen asleep, her long eyelashes framing golden cheeks awash in wane moonlight. It's yet another reminder of how young she is, her diminutive stature always made up for in an attitude that is impossible to ignore. The complete opposite of Kuroko, and by now the older girl is used to the slight sting of jealousy that is immediately quelled when Ryoma-chan stirs and the sleeve of a jacket that's far too thin for her slips up, revealing a fading bruise on the underside of her forearm. Kuroko frowns faintly, reaching out with feather light fingers to pull the sleeve further up without disturbing Ryoma-chan. There are a few more bruises littered across her arm, but the freshest one is on her bicep and looks only a couple days old.

Then again, Kuroko's a basketball player, not a medical examiner. Still, she's had more experience as the patient than anyone should really have at this point in their lives, so she'd say that she's pretty qualified.

Kuroko slips her phone out of her pocket, holding the power button down as she pulls Ryoma-chan's sleeve back down. In the few seconds it takes for her to battle it out with the tennis player's jacket, her phone has powered on and is having a seizure in her hand. Once the sleeve sufficiently covers her arm, Kuroko types out the password, first going into her settings to turn off vibrate before sifting through her contacts list. It takes her another few seconds to find the correct number, and then she's dialing, hoping that she isn't making a horrible mistake by choosing _this_ person of all people.

He picks up on the fifth ring. "What the fuck do you want?"

"Akutsu-san, can you drop by the street courts now?"

A groan sounds and then she can hear shuffling along with a few muffled curses. "The fuck do you want there, huh?"

"Ryoma-chan met Haizaki-kun today."

All sounds of shuffling disappear and of all the things that Kuroko is expecting (among them being screaming, cursing, and signs of general nastiness), the beeping sound of Akutsu-san having hung up on her isn't even in the top one hundred.

Sighing, she sets her phone down and shifts a little closer to Ryoma-chan, who's currently out for the count. Fortunately, her phone is no longer buzzing, although she's sure that if she turns it on, her lock screen would be covered in continuous messages from her teammates, the most prevalent among them being Kagami-kun, who doesn't know when to give up. A useful thing on court. An annoying one (at best) in real life.

Are Ryoma-chan's teammates also doing the same thing? Considering the few times she's seen all of them and the interactions she's had with a specific few, she's more than surprised at the fact that Fuji-san hasn't already tracked the two of them down. She remembers Ryoma-chan telling her that she had been planning to meet up with some old acquaintances from the middle school tennis circuits (something that Kuroko thinks upon with no small amount of wistfulness because phantom girls who are a part of the team that drove middle schoolers to suicide don't tend to have many friends) after the Seirin-Yosen game. Considering the way Fuji-san treats her like the most precious thing on the planet, she expected that he would've been spamming both Ryoma-chan and Kuroko's phones.

_Oh...wait._

Lifting her phone again, she quickly presses the home button, the system recognizing her thumb print and giving her immediate access (she was right-her lock screen now has a new wallpaper). Scrolling through her unread messages, which are piling on top of each other, she winces when the contacts with the most unread texts are Yukimura-san, Fuji-san, and Yanagi-san. The first two, she understands, because she clearly remembers giving both of them her number of her own volition (Yukimura-san during her winter training session with him, and Fuji-san during the celebration at Kawamura's Sushi post-Seirin-Touou game), but she's never even had a full conversation with Yanagi-san, much less had time to share her contact information. The only reason why she's even aware that the anonymous number belongs to Yanagi-san is because unlike some people (Akutagawa-san, who nearly had her calling the police when he woke her up in the middle of the night with a string of one-worded texts asking her over the course of thirty seconds for Mitobe's number after having pilfered _her's_ from Ryoma-chan's phone), he actually bothered introducing himself with his first text.

That still doesn't answer the question of how he got her phone number in the first place. For some reason, he hadn't struck her as the type to just _ask_ _,_ or _steal_ _._ (In all honesty, the notebook that's practically glued to his hand reminds her way too much Satsuki-chan for comfort.)

Having deemed Fuji-san the most likely to send a police search party after them. dogs and all, she clicks on his message thread. Quickly skimming it, she understands the gist of increasingly capitalized texts and sends a succinct, _"Ryoma-chan is with me now. Don't worry, I'll keep her safe. She's sleeping right now."_

That hardly seems to satisfy him, since as soon as the message is delivered, another text bubble pops up in which his words are fully capitalized and demanding their current location.

She exits out of the thread and deletes it.

Yukimura-san and Yanagi-san receive similar answers, and by that time, Fuji-san has created a new thread and is using up all of her storage. She exits out into the phone screen just as the sound of pounding footsteps reaches her ears, and she looks up right when Akutsu-san bursts out from around the bend. His face is fixed into a calm, almost ferociously so, expression, despite the fact that his hands are trembling at his sides (whether from anger or fear, Kuroko's not quite sure) and his breathing is sharp from having obviously rushed here from wherever he was before. Akutsu-san immediately catches sight of the two-first, his eyes land on Echizen, even though the younger girl is technically mostly hidden behind Kuroko, then his eyes catch on Kuroko. He lets out a shaky breath, muttering something under his breath, running his fingers through already messed up silver hair before tucking his hands into his jeans pockets and making his way towards them. "Is that all she's wearing?"

There's a note of concern in his gruff voice, and Kuroko smiles up at him slightly, even though he doesn't notice it. "She went straight here. I guess tennis really means a lot to her."

Akutsu-san snorts, moving around her to stand over Ryoma-chan. "You have no idea."

"I want to have one." Akutsu-san doesn't say anything, even as Kuroko reaches forward, pulling Ryoma-chan's sleeve up, once again baring her fading bruises to the air. "You know something, don't you. The day I first met you, with Seijūrō. You told her to do what you said. She let you see her bruises willingly. You must _know_ something."

Akutsu-san's face closes, and he observes her silently for a long moment before, "You're pretty damn perceptive, aren't you?"

He bends down, slipping his arms under Ryoma-chan's body and straightening, cradling her petite frame to his chest. Yet another boy who cares so much for her, except this one holds her delicately, as if she's a china doll that'll shatter into a million pieces if he even dares to hold her in the wrong position.

_"Just goes to show how whipped he is, huh?"_

And yet another piece of evidence supporting the idea that Akutsu-san knows something about Ryoma-chan that not even her teammates know.

"You coming with?" Akutsu-san doesn't even wait for an answer, stalking forward and leaving Kuroko to follow after him if she wants answers.

(Hint: she does.)

* * *

They end up going to Kuroko's apartment because a) it's the second closest to the sports park out of the three's residences, b) none of them can legally drive (a fact that never stopped Akutsu-san, but Kuroko's not about to risk putting both her and Ryoma-chan's lives in the hands of a teenager who apparently does drugs according to Haizaki-kun), c) Akutsu-san's home is too far, cramped, and not in a neighborhood meant for two girls, even though only one is easily visible, and d) neither of them trust Ryoma-chan's home as far as they can throw a stone.

They get more than a few weird stares in the reception area, the elevators, and the hallways from neighbors, but both Kuroko and Akutsu-san ignore them in favor of power walking towards her private apartment. Once they reach the door and she unlocks it after fumbling around in the pockets of her team jacket and almost having a heart attack at the thought of leaving it in the locker room which is sure to be locked until tomorrow during Seirin's next game, Akutsu-san barges in before she can even officially invite him in and then stops in the little foyer, looking a little bit lost as to where to go. Sighing internally, Kuroko steps inside, slipping her shoes off before further walking in, flipping the light switch as she does so. The door swings closed behind her, and she locks it before moving towards her bedroom, calling, "Akutsu-san," for him to follow.

He does so, and when she opens the door to her bedroom, the light from the living room encroaching upon the shadowy floor, Akutsu-san steps in, covering the distance between the door in the bed in quick, long strides. He carefully settles Ryoma-chan into Kuroko's own bed without having once asking permission, and Kuroko quashes the slight annoyance considering that she never actually expected him to be particularly mindful of his manners in the first place.

At any rate, the scene suddenly seems a bit too intimate when Akutsu-san tucks Ryoma-chan in and leans down to kiss her forehead. Kuroko turns, silently padding away to the kitchen where she pulls her jacket off and turns on the thermostat. A couple minutes later, the apartment is at a livable temperature, a kettle of tea is boiling, and two cups are set out on a traditional bamboo tray from a set her parents had gifted her before they left for Bulgaria months ago. Her lips twist slightly at the though of her parents, who try their hardest to keep her safe in favor of actually establishing a connection with her, but, well.

When your uncle is Akashi Masaomi, there're no such things as familial ties. The fact that she's so close to Seijūrō in the first place is a miracle in and of itself.

The kettle begins whistling, and she turns the heat off as she lifts it up, carefully pouring the green tea into the mugs. Hearing footsteps pause outside the entrance to the kitchen, she calls without looking back, "I'll join you in the living room in a minute, Akutsu-san."

Once the footsteps have receded in the direction of the living room and Kuroko has finished pouring the tea, she sets the kettle in the middle of the tray and lifts the entire set up, hitting the light switch as she walks out. As she passes the hallway that holds her bedroom, she notices that the door is now closed, and the hallway light is on. Another faint smile ghosts across her lips.

Akutsu-san is sitting on the edge of the sofa, arms braced against his thighs as he stares down at the sea blue floor rug the furniture is arranged upon. When she sets the tray down on the coffee table and pushes the warm mug into his hands, he only gives her a slight nod in acknowledgement. She kneels on the padded mat set across from him, taking her own mug and blowing across the surface to cool the liquid. He glares down into the contents of the cup, as if they've horribly offended him. "I fucking hate green tea."

He drinks it anyways.

"How is it?" Kuroko asks benignly, starting the conversation with something small, nothing worth blowing up over.

Except this is Akutsu-san, who blows up anyways. "Don't think I don't fucking know what you're doing, Kuroko Tetsuya. You think that damned brat doesn't do the same thing to me? Like I'm some kind of fucking psychology project. You don't give a fuck about what I think about your shitty green tea." He takes another sip for emphasis. "If you want to know about fucking Haizaki Shougo, just fucking _ask_."

Kuroko raises an eyebrow. "Maa...you summed it up pretty well, though I would've used less derogatives." He sneers, and she hides a smile behind her mug. "Let's start off small, then. How do you know Haizaki-kun."

Akutsu-san scowls. "That little twisted piece of fuck is my cousin."

Kuroko almost drops her cup. "What?"

Akutsu-san sneers, taking a long draught of the tea. "Only physical similarity is the hair, which he dyed and did in dreads the beginning of this year because the little bitch couldn't deal with me having the same colored hair. Of course, we're practically cut out of the same fucking cloth, but when it comes to the fucking brat, we've got damn different opinions."

He doesn't look willing to share anything else, so Kuroko moves on. "What did you tell him about Ryoma-chan?"

Akutsu-san groans. "Too fucking much, apparently. Shouldn't have even mentioned the fucking brat, but I was high as a damn kite and Shougo got a little too fucking curious about where I've been disappearing to."

"She has a lot of faith in you."

Akutsu-san laughs, more self-deprecating than humorous. "Yeah, the first fucking person who's ever looked me in the eye and drove a tennis ball into my face at point blank. Can you believe that my first real interaction with her was when I showed up at her school and served a handful of rocks at her? She's a fucking angel. Stupid."

Kuroko sips her tea, letting Akutsu-san regain control over himself before carefully posing another question. He's not a saint, but he certainly does care for Ryoma-chan. That's a certainty. "Haizaki-kun said a few things to her that she doesn't agree with. She was crying, you know."

Akutsu-san's head jerks up, and his brown eyes are wide as they meet her's, "That fucking brat? _Crying_? What the fuck did that piece of _shit_ say to her?"

"Something about the time she collapsed on court. About how you ran for her. You left your joint, he sad you were whipped."

Akutsu-san's face blanches, and his hands drop slightly. "You're sure he said that. You're _fucking_ sure he said that."

Kuroko's eyes narrow slightly, and she sets her mug down. "Very much so. Why?"

Akutsu-san closes his eyes, groaning. "No wonder why she was fucking crying." Kuroko opens her mouth to ask, but he beats her to it. "I won't tell you much, that's something the fucking brat has to do, but what I _can_ tell you as that a couple months ago, Shougo and I were smoking in the park, hidden along the edge of the trail leading to the more private courts. The fucking brat hadn't shown up until a couple hours after I got to my third one, but she collapsed almost immediately after. I couldn't just _leave_ her there. Shougo knows because he was there, but after I sorted everything out-got her admitted into a recovery hospital-" That must've been when she met Kiyoshi-senpai, Kuroko realizes with sudden clarity. "-even managed to threaten the story out of her-after all that, I told Shougo to ignore what he saw. I should've fucking known. The guy's a damn viper in the grass."

Kuroko slowly nods, processing the sudden dump of information. "Why did she collapse?"

"I..." Akutsu-san frowns slightly, takes a deep breath. "Malnutrition. Over exertion. It wasn't anything serious, nothing that couldn't be fixed without a few days of rest, but the hospital wanted to keep her in for longer because-"

"The bruises." Akutsu-san's face twists slightly, and Kuroko leans forward. "Do you know who made them?" She has an idea, an unpleasant one, but she wants confirmation before she goes in guns ablazing.

He shifts slightly, uncomfortable. "Look, this really isn't my story to tell-"

"Ryoma-chan is my _friend_. I deserve to know about this just as much as you do, maybe more so because I can actually _do_ something."

Akutsu-san winces again, and Kuroko takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry for that, but I need to know. Those-those _injuries_ aren't healthy for her, both physically and mentally."

He takes a deep breath, lets it out. "The fucking brat says that... _she_ did it. To herself."

In the following silence, Kuroko can only stare at Akutsu-san when the squeak of a floorboard alerts Kuroko to a third person's presence. Before she even turns around, she already knows who's standing there.

Ryoma-chan's golden eyes are wide and bright and her fists are clenched under her thin windbreaker jacket. "Fuck you, Akutsu Jin. I fucking trusted you, you-you- _FUCK_ you!"

She bursts across the living room and neither of them can do anything as she slams the door open, leaving in a whirlwind of anger and hatred and betrayal.

Akutsu-san growls, burying his head in his arms, and all Kuroko can do is ignore the way his shoulders are noticeably trembling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gasp! and a shocking reveal!


	32. Thirty Second: Metamorphoses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Akutsu has a bone the size of Asia Minor to pick with Fuji Syuusuke, but right now he's cold and suffering withdrawal symptoms and so, so damn desperate it's sickening. "Where the hell is she?"

There's no reaction from the closed-eyed freak leaning against the doorframe in front of him except for a yawn that he covers with a slender hand, and Akutsu has the sudden urge to snap it off his wrist and claw those eyelids open. He decides that a smoke is in order-right after this, though. "Good evening-well, maybe I should be saying good morning, Akutsu, considering that it is currently three in the morning. To what may I owe the _pleasure_ of thus early morning visit?"

Akutsu growls agitatedly, and he has a half a mind to carry out on what he had been thinking of just moments before, but then he remembers this same brunette with a figure prettier than most girls mercilessly beating that Rikkai brat into the ground with nothing more than a racket and a ball, and he inhales sharply. He _really_ needs that smoke now. "Ryoma. Where. Is. She?"

And all of a sudden all signs of cordiality are gone, blue eyes flashing underneath hooded lids as Fuji straightens, and even though he has at least half head on the Rakuzan player, Akutsu has to resist the urge to recoil when Fuji's lips curl into something that grotesquely resembles a smile. "And why would you be asking that question?"

Akutsu closes his eyes and groans, if only to pretend for a moment that he isn't well and truly fucked. The fucking brat's guard dog is on him and his teeth are centimeters from wrapping around Akutsu's neck. He can practically feel the (very real) blood that is about to be dripping down his throat and staining the one clean shirt he had managed to find in the mess known as his hell pit of a room. Fuji's eyes are practically doing that already, and Akutsu knows, just _knows_ , that the sick bastard is imagining the silver-haired teens long and very _painful_ death. _What is it with the brat and surrounding herself with people who drink blood instead of water?_ Including him. "Look, I don't have fucking time for this shit-"

"And if you don't answer my question, you won't have to worry about having time for anything ever again." Blue eyes freeze Akutsu in place, and internally, he curses the fucking brat for being a literal trouble magnet.

"I messed up," Akutsu snaps harshly, making no mention of the tears he saw leaking out of the brat's eyes as she ran out of Kuroko's apartment or the smooth skin that he can still feel pressed against his fish belly pale lips despite not having seen her since hours ago. "I fucking messed up, and now the damn-now she's somewhere in this big fucking ass city and I have no idea where she is."

Fuji doesn't move, doesn't twitch, doesn't even bat a damn eye in response to Akutsu's pathetically desperate plea for help, and yet the atmosphere suddenly feels as heavy as his mother's constant pestering. It's already cold, but the temperature just keeps dropping, and normally Akutsu would be snorting and cussing the fuck out of something as ridiculously _physically impossible_ and _overdone_ as that, but Fuji isn't normal, and normally, the damn brat would be here, standing to the side, laughing her ass and flat chest off over the entire situation. "At three in the morning. Ryo-chan is wandering the streets of Tokyo. At fucking three in the morning."

The plaid pajamas and fluffy slippers do nothing to make Fuji look any less menacing, and Akutsu sneers. "I've been searching for her for at least five hours now. I've covered all the places she usually runs to when things aren't going her way-the street courts, the gym, the animal shelter near the train station, the sports store, the library, even her own fucking home, but I can't find her anywhere. I thought maybe she would've gone to you. For some reason, she seems to like you the most. Can't understand that for the life of me."

Fuji's eyes are probably the most terrifying things Akutsu has ever seen, and if he were a lesser man (or less prideful, that's pretty much the only difference), he'd be pissing his own pants and running fir his life. Instead, Akutsu watches as Fuji disappears inside his house only to reappear a second later with a coat in hand and some proper shoes. Slipping the coat and shoes on, Fuji steps out, forcing Akutsu to retreat if he doesn't want to end up being pressed chest to chest with him. "The library?"

Akutsu blinks, the two words repeating themselves before they finally click. He sneer, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket even as the two move in synch away from Fuji's house. "Seriously? Is that what you're fucking wondering about right now?" Fuji's eyes cut towards him, and Akutsu snorts, rolling his shoulders to release the built up tension. "Hmph. The fucking brat's gotta learn the things she knows _somewhere_. How do you think she managed to test into Rakuzan? A shitty sports scholarship isn't gonna help anyone with an IQ level of dirt."

Fuji isn't smiling anymore, but he isn't frowning either as he lowers his head to tuck his chin into the collar of his outerwear. "Ryo-chan hates studying. During finals prep week, she spent every minute not in class breaking into the courts and practicing her serves."

Akutsu laughs/sneers even though he could hardly give a fuck about what the shitty brat does in her time at Rakuzan. (If he's being honest with himself, which he rarely ever is, he'd admit that he actually fucking _misses_ her when she's off playing the "perfect daughter" in Kyoto.) "Sure she hates studying, who doesn't? But, for some damn reason I still don't understand, she cares more about you guys than the numerous headaches she gave herself." Fuji's head whips torward him, and Akutsu smirks. "Yeah. Surprising, huh? I would've pulled the beer out the moment you fucks graduated. Instead, she spent who knows how many hours cramming in order to ace the entrance exams." This time, it's Akutsu's turn to cut his eyes towards his reluctantly dubbed "companion." He feels a concerning amount of satisfaction when he just barely manages to note that Fuji looks uncomfortable with the new information. "Don't tell me you didn't know? That's rich."

"Shut up," Fuji snaps, and this time Akutsu laughs for real, more grating than joyful, but the fucking situation isn't all that great in the first place.

The two fall into a tenuous silence as they wander the streets of Tokyo with no direction other than to find the only connection between them-one Echizen Ryoma, who collects bruises and hearts like they're rocks on a waterbed. Akutsu's back to watching the shadows warily. Fuji's eyes roam the area, face lightening and darkening with every street lamp they pass. Angel and devil.

(Some part, deep, deep, _deep_ inside of Akutsu is grateful that the shitty brat has someone like Fuji Syuusuke wrapped around her little pinky finger. Except right now, he's more annoyed than anything else.)

"Where were you guys?" Fuji breaks the silence with a probing question, and Akutsu's lips tighten.

"We were at Kuro's place," Akutsu replies shortly before adding, "What the hell does that have to do with anything?"

Fuji ignores his question in order to fire one of his own. "Kuro?"

Akutsu snorts, rolling his head, sighing as his neck cracks. "Yeah. Kuro, Kuroko Tetsuya? Pretty fitting, you know. Black, for shadow. The two were freezing on the street courts when I happened across them." There's no way in _hell_ that Akutsu is telling this little shit about the tears he saw running down her face as she ran out of Kuro's front door, or Shougo, who has a penchant for pissing dangerous people off, backing himself up with fists and sometimes a jackknife, and sexual assault. Of course, Shougo would be the first to die, and that would be satisfying as fuck, but then Akutsu would be next, and that would be less satisfying and more pathetic. "The fucking brat ended up falling asleep by that time, so Kuro and I took her back to Kuro's apartment. Both her and my place aren't the best for shelter."

Fuji nods, looking like he isn't even fucking paying attention to Akutsu's words. Akutsu scowls but doesn't say anything, his need for self preservation outweighing his need for validation from Fuji Syuusuke. A couple minute more pass by and then Fuji snaps his fingers, eyes brightening. "I know where Ryo-chan is."

"What the fuck?"

Fuji's already turned on his heel, though, pulling his phone out of his coat pocket and calling some random fucker without waiting for Akutsu to catch up. The silver-haired teen spits onto the edge of the sidewalk, a wad of resentment and annoyance and relief that finds a home on the curb right next to a litter of cigarette butts that remind him of how he sorely needs a nicotine fix and piles of tossed gum wrappers.

He quickens his pace to follow after Fuji, already feeling a sense of foreboding settle heavily into the bottom of his stomach. He'll probably end up regretting this.

* * *

Akutsu fucking called it. He's sitting on the edge of some random fucker's couch, stiffly holding a steaming mug in his hands as Fuji converses in low tones with a black-haired shit with eyebrows so ugly they should be illegal. The house isn't that bad-not run down like Akutsu's and the damn brat's, but not as high end as Kuro's. Middle class, with a couch that probably costs more than Akutsu's fucking net worth.

(That is, excluding all the shit that he's stolen in his pathetic little life. He's probably consumed about a couple thousand dollars worth of jacked joints.)

"Who's this?"

Akutsu's attention is drawn back to the two other people in the living room. One pair of eyes and one pair of eyelids greet him, and Akutsu interrupts Fuji with a sharp, "Akutsu Jin."

The black-haired teen raises a freaky eyebrow, eyes narrowing just slightly. "I see. I'm Hanamiya Makoto, Ryo's... _friend_."

"Flowery truth," huh? For fuck's sake, what were this shit's parents thinking? He can already see all the trouble that someone like this gets into. "So she's here?"

Fuji shoots him an evil look. "She is, but you're not going to see her."

Akutsu bursts to his feet, ignoring the scalding liquid that splashes up over the mug and onto his wrist. He doesn't bother setting the mug down as he snarls at the two, who look more unimpressed than Akutsu felt when dragged to the gay strip club Shougou dragged him to once. (The shit's bi. It was a real fucking surprise when he came out.) "And why the fuck not? I have more of a right than a bitch with eyebrow problems and a twisted little piece of shit who can't even protect her."

Fuji's eyes crystalize, and in moments he's up and in Akutsu's face, who isn't standing down even though a chill runs down his spine and seeps into his bone marrow. "And what about you? A wash out who wastes his days sneaking into nightclubs with fake IDs and comes crying to Ryo-chan when he gets too sloshed for himself to handle. You want to know why none of us has hunted you down yet for that fucking stunt you pulled in middle school? Because she told us to stand down and we _did_. Call me whipped, but I would never, _ever_ stop myself from doing what I want to do if she doesn't tell me no. We fucking trusted you, Akutsu Jin, and then you went and made her _cry_. You made the one person who ever gave you a chance _cry_ , and you're asking why you don't have the right to see her?"

Akutsu grits his teeth as the words hit home. _"I fucking trusted you!"_ She had, and he had been so grateful at the time (still is), because no one gives the delinquent who's destined for a future on the streets and maybe the penitentiary when he gets real fucking desperate a second glance, or a first chance. He had spilt her blood with a tennis racket, had attacked her friends, and then she went on court and, like an avenging goddess, _beat his sorry ass_ and then he had grabbed her by the collar and shook her around like a rag doll.

_"I win." Flash of golden eyes, arrogant chin tilting up slightly, emerald streaked black hair spilling in a tangled mess out of a Fila cap knocked askew from Akutsu violent grab, mirth lacing a voice that's all soft edges and comforting worth despite her words and her current predicament. He's never met a girl like her before, with a loud confidence that doesn't manifest itself in prideful bragging and explicitly obscene gestures, with an innate gracefulness and the ability to command attention by default. His grip slackens. "You did good, though."_

The only compliment he's ever gotten on his tennis, sincere and saturated in a laughter that had invited him to share. Because his tennis drives away anyone who could possibly like him. Dan os no exception, who admires him but from afar, cvhasing after him yet never daring enough to come closer to touch.

And yet Echizen Ryoma comes at him with all the intensity of a drive to the face, knocking some sense into him as she easily bypasses every single barricade he's ever set up in order to shoot him a haughty smirk and an arrogant, _"You did good."_

As if she isn't afraid of his bite, or the inevitable burn that she is experiencing right now.

Akutsu takes a deep breath, bows his head. He can feel the quiet shock that keeps Fuji in place, keeps the silent figure that he would know anywhere hiding just around the corner of the living room from rushing in, keeps Hanamiya fucking Makoto whose eyebrows practically burn his retinas from saying anything else. "I get it. Just...call me when you're ready to talk, brat."

And then he's leaving, the mug still in his hands, but nobody bothers chasing after him for it.

(Just one more thing he's stolen, but the one thing he's lost is the one thing he needs the most.)

* * *

Akutsu hadn't known that Echizen Ryoma was a girl when he first met her.

At the time, he had been at Ginka for the money he had been promised. A few complications later, he had no money but did have bruised fists and a settled blood lust. He had been ready to leave after that (no point in hanging out in some dusty locker room without a damn reason), but some commotion on the courts outside caught his attention.

A little kid with golden skin, a Fila cap over abnormally long hair for a boy, and golden eyes. No boobs, no hips, no curves, no super long hair-nothing that defined this kid as a girl, so Akutsu had made the assumption, because as far as he was concerned, no girl could hit a serve like the one the kid had.

He beat every single member on the Ginka tennis team, and Akutsu practically tattooed his face onto the backs of his eyelids because from that day forward, he wouldn't be forgetting him.

Then he found out who he was. Or rather, what school he was from. No surprise there, considering the old bastard of a coach he had. Honestly, Banji had probably known about Akutsu's excursion-had probably even known about his interest in the kid with golden eyes because when Akutsu overheard Banji talking to Dan about Seigaku and the freshman regular with a Twist Sharp as sharp as a steak knife, he had immediately rushed to Seigaku, blood boiling at the though of playing tennis against him.

Damn Banji and his meddlesome ways.

It was a bit disappointing to find out that he hadn't reached Seigaku in time. By the time he showed up at the courts, they were locked and empty. So disappointing. Of course, imagine his delight when he saw the boxes of tennis balls stacked near the entrance of one of the enclosed courts, a tennis club member stepping out and locking the gates after him. He picked up a crate, quickly followed by a runt of a guy that Akutsu immediately dismissed-skin too pale, hair too short, body too weak. They were heading towards Akutsu, who grinned and leaned against a tree in wait of them.

They should've known better than to ignore him, or to even think that they could possibly order him around. The older one went down immediately. The few kicks and punches that Akutsu had managed to get in were hardly satisfying. The little runt was a little more amusing, at least. He had tried to run away after Akutsu demanded to see the freshman regular, and the sight of the tennis ball whizzing past the runt's face and straight into the boxes of tennis balls was more satisfying, especially when he noticed the cut welling up with blood on the runt's cheek as a result of the speed of the ball that had brushed him. A few more serves, and things were in chaos, falling all over the place as the runt whimpered in terror and helplessness.

Of course, Akutsu's fun just _had_ to be ruined then

The kid with golden eyes showed up, racket out and easily volleying the high speed serve that Akutsu had leveled at the runt's face, and excitement was pounding away in Akutsu's veins. He was wearing his jersey, and golden eyes rested on him cooly.

It was more for his amusement than for anything else. Picking up that rock would eventually become one of the worst mistakes he's ever made in his entire life (and he's made a _lot_ of mistakes), but at the moment, his blood was singing in a way it only did when he was high or drunk or both, and right then, he was neither, so he wanted to do things that he did when under the influence-except right then he was sober and drunk on life.

The freshman blocked the first rock, and then Akutsu scooped up a handful. Jagged edges slashed through the flesh of his cheeks and exposed throat.

Akutsu laughed then. (He's not laughing now.)

And the brat had a sense of honor! Or maybe it was pride, because no action was taken against him. No knock on the door, no meeting with the principal, nothing. Banji gave him a look, but Akutsu knew that he bastard knew that Yamabuki wouldn't have a chance of winning if Akutsu didn't play, even with fucking Sengoku.

So Akutsu went unpunished, and he laughed again.

Then he found out about Seigaku's connection with Fudomine, Yamabuki's next opponent. It was too golden of an opportunity. Knock out their next opponent while pissing the golden freshman brat off? Who _wouldn't_?

Akutsu called in a favor, and half of Fudomine was wiped out in an "accident." Incompetent idiots, that the injuries of a few players end up resulting in the team's forfeit, but, well. The furious expression on wonder boy's face was so worth it.

Match day came, and Akutsu could hardly care about the first two matches. Both went to Seigaku, but that hadn't bothered him all that much. After all, his only real opponent was the freshman brat, who had been eyeing him the way a vulture does its carrion. Akutsu laughed, spreading his arms. _Come at me._

And come at him the Seigaku brat _did_. Right off the bat, a ball was driven straight into Akutsu's face all the while sporting a smirk and _oh_ , Akutsu would _definitely_ enjoy beating this fucking brat into a bloody pulp on the ground.

Akutsu dominated. "Not one single point," he had promised, and wonder brat wasn't getting a single one. It was a heady sort of satisfaction, with every shot that his opponent prayed would be the last one being returned thrice fold by Akutsu. He had beaten every single person that had ever challenged him. It was getting boring, really, playing against fucks who had given up before the game even started. Seigaku's brat was fresh meat-interesting, new, and oh so determined. Admirable, really, but Akutsu had front row tickets to watching him fall apart.

And then everything turned to shit. Akutsu didn't understand. (He still doesn't.)

A hit aimed directly at wonder brat's face after a play that Akutsu had to applaud (it was nice to find out that there was at least one tennis player who actually had a brain), and he was knocked back by at least a meter, sliding against the ground.

And the ball landed behind Akutsu. A single point for him.

"Echizen-chan!"

It was an epiphany. As the kid was blown backwards, the wind pushed his-or rather, _her_ -shirt up, revealing a flat stomach and a flatter chest contained by a sports bra. (Akutsu had seen enough bras in his career as a middle school delinquent to know that the material wrapped around her chest wasn't just some sort of new undershirt.) -chan plus bra plus longer hair than that of the average male?

There was really only one conclusion.

The fact that wonder brat was actually a girl instead of a boy didn't change anything. Despite the fact that this was technically an all boys competition, that didn't change that fact that the girl standing on the court opposite him was still one hell of an opponent. She had the guts to hit a ball right at his face, then she scored a point after he absolutely dominated her for enough time for the average tennis player to give up hope. Then again, she _wasn't_ average. Such a stupid gamble, and she still had the confidence to look him in the eye and shot a cocky, "Mada mada dane." at him.

Cheeky brat.

It was neck and neck from then on, something that Akutsu couldn't help but love. He knew that Banji knew-the old bastard was giving him another look. And if Akutsu did end up following Banji's advice-

Well, no one but Banji and he needed to know that.

In the end, the girl won. It was disappointing for sure. He was angry, for sure. One good shake of the brat's collar did it for him, because in return, she gave him something that nobody had ever given him.

Confidence. In him.

Ironically, from the cockiest brat he had ever met, but, well. When they ended up crossing paths later that day, Akutsu finally bothered to remember her name and they exchanged phone numbers. He never touched her contact until they crossed paths again in the street courts one day. They were both bored and there were no challenging people around.

So they played against each other.

She was there the next day, and he pretended that he hadn't just dropped a meeting with Shougo in order to come to the sports park that day. They played against each other that day, and later that night, she texted him. It was a simple demand for him to buy her burgers.

He ignored it.

It became a sort of routine, one that Akutsu truly didn't mind. They would play for hours, from love all to a never ending tiebreaker, and then they would take turns paying for each others' burgers. She never mentioned her first text, and he never did either.

She was the first person to ever bother seeking him out just because.

No reason, except that she was bored and she liked him. No external motives. Nothing sinister planned.

 _Friends_ , she called them, and friends he wanted them to be.

_Of course, Akutsu Jin would just have to fuck up the one precious thing he had in life._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last of my pre-written chapters! From now on, updates will be weekly, on every Sunday!


	33. Thirty Third: Emulations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder that updates will be coming once a week from now on! Every Sunday!
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Kise's heart is threatening to pound its way out of his chest, and not in a good way.

Haizaki Shougo, the bastard, has a way with words-ironic, considering that he talks with his fists more often than not. Kise's been subject to both methods of harassment, and, so far, he prefers the cuts and bruises and blood to the heated pulsing of his heart bleeding out on the court.

It hurts more than he'd like to admit, finding out that Haizaki had a "special ability" or so to speak. Sure, it was a bit humbling (and more humiliating) to be beaten by someone he had assumed to have a few special moves but was otherwise completely bland and normal, but he had accepted it. To hear that Shougo-kun has the same copying ability-actually, one some steps above Kise's own-yet chose not to reveal it to Kise during that one-on-one years ago-

A blatant insult, one that plays Kise the fool two years later in the middle of the Winter Cup. If he takes one step forward, he can even assume that the only reason Kise was brought on board by Akashicchi was because he was a less violent, slight less useful clone of Shougo-kun.

It's even more humiliating than if Kise had continued to believe Shougo-kun to be a talented yet ultimately mediocre player.

Kise keeps his eyes steady on his feet even as he wordlessly accepts the water bottle one of the reserve players handed him. Instead of uncapping it and drinking, he rests the bottom against his forehead, more as an affirming action than to cool down his heated skin. The silence of Kaijo's bench is opressive, especially when Kise is dimly aware of the background buzz of the crowd. He wonders whether Akashicchi is sitting in one of those seats, over-watching Kise's every mistake with pale eyes, so unnatural and unearthly.

Then he thinks of Akashicchi's inverse, his anchor to the earth when Kise swears that his ex-captain will fly away at any moment, and Kise hopes to the superior being he never believed existed in the first pace that Kurokocchi isn't somewhere in those stands, watching Shougo-kun's every movement and listening to Shougo-kun's every word, his every damn breath because scum like Haizaki Shougo don't deserve to even breathe the same air as Kuroko Tetsuya.

His eyes flit to the scoreboard. 51-63 in Fukuda's favor, with two quarters left.

Twenty minutes. It's a lot of time in a game when one second before the buzzer is the difference between a promise of advancement and a cruel shut down. Is twenty minutes enough for Kaijo to bridge a twelve-point gap?

As of right now...not even bright, vapid Kise can give a confident "yes."

But still...Kise glances from side to side without once turning his head, taking in the expressions on his _teammates'_ faces: frustrated and angered and determined and _none of them have given up hope yet,_ even though Moriyama-senpai's unique shot had been taken away from him despite the hours and sweat and tears he had poured into perfecting that one technique, even though Hayakawa-senpai's special rebound was pillaged and he can only watch helplessly as rebound after rebound is taken by his very own (not anymore) skill.

That's when it hits him-is this how his opponents felt when he scored a basket right under their noses using their ace's techniques? Is this how their minds and hearts despaired as they watched someone master a move they had put extra practice into in just a single blink of the eye? Do they feel as if their world is crumbling from right under their feet, uselessness pooling in a dead weight into the pits of their stomach because how can _they_ compare to a copy cat who steals their moves without any regard to their feelings whatsoever?

Does that make Kise any different from Haizaki Shougo?

The buzzer sounds before Kise can delve further into this striking (and vomit-inducing) epiphany, and then his teammates are all creaking up onto their feet, fire still burning in their eyes.

Kise grins, banishing such thoughts for a moment. Just for now, so he can play without any constraints.

Kasamatsu-senpai starts with the ball, guarded closely by Fukuda's captain, but that doesn't deter him despite the tight defense. Kise catches the pass headed straight for him (just as accurate as Kurokocchi's!), dribbling down court before Shougo-kun cuts in, face heavily shadowed, none of which masks the predatory glint in his eyes, or the dark edge to his self-assured smirk. Kise pulls up, carefully bouncing the ball and angling away before gritting his teeth and pushing forward.

With Shougo-kun, brute force is a necessity. Four times out of five, he'll have out thought anything you could've come up within the seconds of being intercepted.

It's useless, though. The moment he spins sharply around Shougo-kun and jumps for a one-handed dunk, he knows what's going to happen. His rhythm is off-his arms and legs aren't working the exact way he wants them to, and Shougo-kun slams the ball out of his hand with an ease that is quite frankly insulting.

"I already took that from you back in the second quarter," Shougo-kun huffs, sounding more annoyed than triumphant. As if it's more of a hassle to steal moves than an advantage. "It's not your move anymore...it's _mine_."

They land, and before Kise can even turn around, he hears the sound of squeaking shoes and the basketball is being picked up. Kise whirls around, finding Kobori-senpai guarding against Fukuda's captain, he quickly passes to number eleven. Before the ball is even out of the captain's hands, though, Shougo-kun shoulders his way up to number eleven, shouting, "Gimme!"

A terrified look crosses number eleven's face, and he practically shoves the ball into Shougo-kun's hands, falling back.

_Fuck this shit._

Kise runs up from behind, overtaking number eleven and drawing even with Shougo-kun, who oes a very good job at fending off Kise's attempts at stealing. "Damn it!"

Shougo-kun smirks as he sneers in Kise's direction, "I'll show you an example." They reach the hoop, and Shougo-kun spins around Kise's block, jumping up and scoring a basket with the one-handed dunk Kise had been attempting to pull off earlier. "It's like this!"

It's pointless. Kise has millions of moves and techniques all memorized and filed away in his brain, ones that he _knows_ that he can execute perfectly right now, in this game, without having ever done them previously, but there's no point when Shougo-kun can play those moves back right in front of Kise's eyes and render them useless.

Kise squeezes his eyes shut, taking in a deep breath. He just barely manages to hold back a flinch when the expanding motions of his chest cause a flash of pain to streak down his side. In normal conditions, he might be a bit short on breath, but a stitch is never even a consideration.

These aren't normal conditions.

Kise's muscles protest as he slowly straightens up from his crouch, still taking in deep breaths. All the noise in the gym has faded into a sort of white, background static-and thank heavens for that because he wouldn't be able to deal with a headache on top of all the shitty symptoms of fatigue that are plaguing him now.

"He's amazing!"

_Shut up._

"He's totally overpowering Kise!"

_Shut up!_

"Does that mean he's equal with the Generation of Miracles?"

_SHUT UP!_

Kise knows that he can't push it. He could hurt his body-put it in a worse condition than it already is. Kurokocchi is more than enough of an example of how overexertion can ruin an athlete's body-her break downs throughout their second year of junior high when all she could do was practice and practice until her misdirection was complete, until her Ignite Pass was perfection incarnate, pushing herself until she collapsed in the middle of the court and her low presence ensured that no one would find her until Akashicchi or one of the Miracles came by to close up the gyms. He knows that she wouldn't like seeing this, knows that her eyes, so sharp despite knowing that one of them will never be the same ever again, would pick up on the spasms of his muscles, his sharp inhales and sharper exhales.

Every sign of exhaustion and overexertion-she would be able to see them.

 _I'm sorry, Kurokocchi._ The score is 53-70 in Fukuda's quarter with only five minutes left in the entire game. That's a seventeen-point gap, and it'll only get wider.

Kise braces a hand against the floor, tries to stand. His leg seizes up, and he blinks back the instinctive tears that spring up as his knee buckles and he keeps a steady kneeling position. _Pathetic._

Shougo-kun's drawling voice sounds behind him, as if to mock Kise (what the hell, Shougo-kun is _definitely_ mocking Kise). "Come to think of it, you were crawling around like that back when we were in middle school, _Ryo-uta._ " He drags out the syllables of Kise's given name, purring lewdly, and Kise almost hurls across the shiny flooring right then and there. _Maybe on his dirty dreads..._ "Right, right...and I took your bitch as well, didn't I?" Shougo-kun laughs, harsh and grating, as if it's the best joke in the world. "You are just down and out pathetic! And I totally dumped her fat ass as soon as I boned her too."

Kise hadn't particularly cared much about the girl back then-hell, he doesn't even remember her face, much less her name. He'll be the first to admit that he's an absolute ass when it comes to dating, but Shougo-kun doesn't just _admit_ it-he fucking _flaunts_ it, like a golden trophy is going to be handed to him because he has more notches on the belt.

Back then, what he had cared most of all was that Haizaki Shougo had utterly humiliated him in front of the whole basketball club-and there was nothing that Kise could do about it.

_"Hey, you! You're talking a bit much! If you keep it up-"_

"Hai, hai," Shougo-kun acquiesces, the insultingly mocking edge of his tone causing more than a few people to bristle with indignation (and annoyance). "I'll be careful from now on."

Kise takes a few more calming breaths, grateful for the silence. He needs to think, he needs to focus. He only has one shot at this. If Kaijo loses, this'll be the end for the team as he knows it. He wants to keep playing...really.

He wants to keep playing with his team.

_"Isn't basketball fun?"_

_Kise lets out a rather unmanly shriek, inwardly berating himself as he pastes himself to the wall, eyes flying around frantically to catch sight of who suddenly surprised him like that. Nobody in the gym is close enough to have spoken so clearly and softly. It's the end of practice, and the majority of the members are heading to the locker rooms while a couple of them stay behind for extra practice. Kise catches sight of one of the so-called "Generation of Miracles" standing off to the side, watching him with the intensity of a hawk. It's quite disturbing, especially when he remembers that this is the guy people had been consistently deferring to-even the coach himself!_

_"Excuse me. I apologize for startling you, but I'm right here."_

_Kise's eyes swing frantically back to where the source had seemed to come from. He blinks when they land on a small frame-a girl with blank blue eyes and breast-length hair to match._

_He screams._

Even before he knew her, Kurokocchi had been telling him about basketball. About how wonderful it was. About...having fun.

"I believe in you, Kise-kun!"

As if summoned by his thoughts alone, Kurokocchi's voice rings out true and clear, breaking through the background buzz, and Kise's head jerks up, eyes widening.

"Where's that from?"

"Who was it?"

"That was a really loud voice."

The audience erupts into murmurs, but Kise's ears are only tuned to Kuroko Tetsuya's voice. His eyes search the stands frantically for a sign, any sign, of her, but even though her blue hair is a beacon among heads of black, he can't find her. _Where is she?_

"Kurokocchi..."

"Ha! This is rich!"

Kise barely feels anything as he straightens and whips around all in one motion. Shougo-kun is standing a few footsteps away from him, back facing Kise. His hand are laced behind his head, arms spread wide, and Kise ca practically see the wide smirk stretching across his face as he laughs, "Your little cheerleader _does_ have a voice! How much do you pay for that, huh? A hundred? A thousand? Or maybe..." Shougo-kun's voice drops lower, trailing off dangerously, and Kise's stomach turns in repulsion. "Maybe you pay her in _different_ ways."

"Shougo-kun." Kise cuts in, his voice surprisingly steady for all the anger and disgust roiling just under the surface of his skin. "You know...I'll tell you this before I win." A sour taste floods his mouth at the sight of Shougo-kun's face when he turns around to fully face Kise. "You've totally got things wrong. Like about that girl..."

"Huh?"

"She just plastered herself all over me and started calling herself my girlfriend. To be honest, I was fed up with her. She was so full of pride, and all she could do was brag about the status of "dating a model."Just because you managed to peel off one girl that flocked over me based on looks, don't get carried away. And about Kurokocchi..." Kise forces his lips to curl up into a smile, even though all he wants to do is carve out Haizaki Shougo's lecherous eyeballs. "Don't think for even a moment that she's the type of girl who'll fall into your bed. She has standards."

Shougo-kun's smirk is more reminiscent of a snarl by now, but before he can retaliate in either words or fists, the whistle blows and Kise brushes past him, intent on utterly destroying his opponent.

(Singular, because with the way Shougo-kun plays, it's as if he's the only one standing on court.)

Kasamatsu-senpai starts with the ball, instantly passing to Kise without even having to ask, almost as if the change in Kise is tangible. "Kise!"

"You're nothing but a piece of shit with nothing good left over, _Ryou-ta_!" Shougo-kun calls, and Kise smiles with the full force of his anger, which numbs the lightning bolts of pain and the screaming protests of his arms and legs and core and every inch of hid body.

_One point. One point at a time._

Less than five minutes to bridge a seventeen-point gap, and Kise has an ace up the sleeve.

"Who is? Then, maybe we can get along together with this?" Miraculously, his arms stay relatively steady as he carefully lifts his arms, the steady build up of power particularly draining in comparison to anything he's ever done or attempted in basketball. "Our styles are completely different." His arm reaches the sweet spot, and then he's reached the apex of his jump, and the ball is shooting up and out of his hands, slowly arching through the air in an exact copy of Midorimacchi's ridiculous three-pointers. It's an exact copy...

So there's no way that it won't go in.

The ball sinks into the net perfectly without touching the rim.

Kise's body feels incredibly light. As if he'll take one step and float right up into the stratosphere. As if gravity no longer has any effect on him, and he's drunk on the very essence of life.

Cheesy, shit, he knows. But that doesn't stop the wide smirk from stretching across, the taunting words from spilling straight from his mouth, "Girls, titles...if you want them, you can have as many of them as you want. But I have a promise to keep that is more important than any of that." A flash of blood red hair and bright blue hair framed against black jerseys, and Kise's eyes glitter, as dark as they shine. "I will make sure to get there. Don't you get in my way!"

_Even if his lungs are trying push through the cracks of his ribcage._

* * *

With two minutes and thirty seconds left, Kaijo has turned the seventeen-point gap into one of only seven.

Shougo-kun snarls, intercepting a pass to his own teammate and throwing one of his teammate's trademark shots up into the air. He's shaken, losing balance. No sportsman would ever think that pillaging their own team's moves would be a good idea.

But Shougo-kun isn't a sportsman, and honestly, he probably doesn't even think that he has a team.

Kise grits his teeth, draws himself up to full height. He doesn't have Murasakibaracchi's genes, but he makes up for that in presence. Shougo-kun falters, and Kise's arm comes down from the heavens to slam the ball out of his grip.

Shougo-kun sneers as the ball goes out of bounds. "Damn you."

"Shougo-kun, you said something earlier," Kise replies, slowly straightening up and trying his hardest to ignore the increasing amounts of pain and discomfort causing irregularities throughout his entire body. He somewhat succeeds. "Something like, 'I though I'd grab the seat of the Generation of Miracles'? How are you feeling now?"

Shougo-kun clucks his tongue, turns away.

Kise manages to intercept a pass and pulls back, tensing his arms and smoothly executing Midorimacchi's shot. It hurts. It hurts like hell-everywhere, everything. Dimly, in the back of his mind, he wonders whether he'll even be able to walk after this match, when there're no more baskets to score, when there's no more adrenaline pumping through his veins.

He puts the terrifying thought aside, for now. Right now, all he needs to do is _play._

Kise takes a deep breath, once again ignoring everything that is wrong in his body. Slides into place to guard Shougo-kun, when suddenly a foot is on _his_ foot and blinding pain is shooting up and everywhere and Kise just barely manages to keep himself from fainting right then and there. "You think I wouldn't notice?" Shougo-kun's eyes are crazed, wide with tiny pupils, tongue slipping out to lick his lips and Kise's stomach lurches again. "That you've injured your foot!"

He lets go a moment later, a blink of the eye, a beat of the heart, but it's more than enough time for Shougo-kun to break past Kise's weakened guard.

"This ends now!" He jumps for a dunk, dreads flying out behind him but there's nothing, nothing _at all_ that Kise will not do to stop this shot, to stop fucking Haizaki Shougo, and then Kise's pushing through the blinding pain in his foot, in his legs, in his lungs, pushing straight for that dirty, lecherous, _disgrace_ of a basketball player.

"I thought I told you!" Kise leaps up in between Shougo-kun and the basket, eyes on the ball as he smashes it out of the way. His palm stings, but it's nothing compared to the vindictive satisfaction that fills his heart. "The winner isn't you! It's _me_."

Kasamatsu-senpai grabs the stray ball, and Kise has propelled himself past Shougo-kun before he can even react. The ball is thrown over to Kise, who brushes past every person on court until he's hanging by his two hands off the rim of the basketball hoop, the ball itself bouncing on the ground below his feet, the buzzer ringing in his ears.

One glance at the scoreboard tells him all he needs to know: 75-72 in Kaijo's favor.

Kise wins. _Kaijo_ wins. _His team wins._

_"Game over!"_

Kise barely has time to breathe before his teammates are draping themselves over his shoulders, punching him everywhere on hid body and _fuck_ it hurts a lot but he's enjoying this _way_ too much.

After the usual post-game ceremony is wrapped up (Kise stands in front of Shougo-kun, who glares menacingly at him from beginning to end), Kise slowly follows after his celebratoy teammates, wobbling on his feet every other step. At the edge of the court, he pauses, stares up at the stands. An indistinguishable sea of faces stares back at him, but Kise holds his fist out anyways, lips curling up into a challenging smirk. _Beat that._

And he'd like to think that Kagamicchi and Kurokocchi see him and answer in kind.

"You didn't give up until the end. You have a very formidable team."

Kise's head whips to the side, where he sees Kasamatsu-senpai standing in front of Fukuda's captain, who half looks like he wants to cry and half looks like he wants to punch the living shit out of...hopefully Shougo-kun.

Fukuda's captain stares at Kasamatsu-senpai before closing his eyes and holding his hand out. "Make sure to win, for our sake as well."

Kasamatsu-senpai slowly reaches out, grasping his Fukuda counterpart's hand firmly. "You guys were strong too."

Kise takes a deep breath, steps off court and into the hallway. The lightness from before disappears, and now it feels as though there are two ton sandbags tied to each of his limbs. He moves at a pace slower than a snail's, but every time he thinks back to the last five minutes of the game, to every single ridiculous shot he had made using Midorimacchi's shot or Aominecchi's unconventional form or Murasakibaracchi's hammer-

He looks forward to his match against Seirin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haizaki Shougo: 6  
> Mochizuki Kazuhiro: 11  
> Ishida Hideki: 4


	34. Thirty Fourth: Phenomena

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some sexual humor-ish thing in here.
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Kuroko had arrived just in time to hear the tail end of Haizaki-kun's mocking spiel-a demeaning "screw you" monologue two years after the fact. Kise-kun half knelt on the ground in front of Haizaki-kun, his head bowed with golden hair falling forward to shadow his expression. Even from behind the last row of benches in the stadium, Kuroko could see the way his muscles twitched and spasmed, protesting against the immense strain she's sure that he had put them under. Tonight is just a string of hurts, from listening to Murasakibara Atsushi demean and ridicule her hard-working teammates to watching Echizen Ryoma storm out of her apartment with tears leaking from her eyes to standing against the wall, watching as her former pupil stands at the entrance of a path that she is intimately familiar with.

All that fades away, though, when Kise-kun stands triumphant on a battlefield bathed in sweat after beating Haizaki-kun at his own game, golden eyes glinting furiously in the light, and Kuroko is struck, not for the first time, by just how much he's grown.

Not physically; at least, since the last time she's seen him, he hasn't grown, though something would've had to have changed for him to perfectly copy the abilities of his ex-teammates. After the all, the only limit to his copycat abilities are the ones related to his physical capabilities. He isn't strong, fast, or skilled enough, so he can't pull off that move. Clear cut limitations on something that could very well be the skill of god-those are what define Kise-kun's special skill, but now...

Now those limitations mean nothing.

And none of that could've happened had Kise-kun's thinking stayed the same. Kuroko firmly believes that Kise-kun would've continued to stagnate forever had his frame of mind not shifted from "I" to "we." The responsibility of being an ace for a team is what drives people to evolve, to work hard and eventually reap the results. Everything is so much more satisfying when there is a "we" involved.

Everything is so much more fun.

Kise-kun's back faces Kuroko as he follows his teammates off the court amidst a deafening applause. He pauses just before entering the hallway, leg twitching. Kuroko is worried for a split second before he raises a fist, holding it out over his head, golden hair glinting, golden eyes surely flashing in the same way, and even though he's not even looking at her, Kuroko feels a fire being lit inside of her.

She's still smiling faintly as she steps out of the doors with the crowd. The sudden cold in contrast with the warmth of the packed gym makes Kuroko shiver slightly, pulling her jacket closer to her body. The chill is just another reminder of what had happened just a half an hour ago. Ryoma-chan had only been wearing her usual thin windbreaker. Every time Kuroko saw the tennis player wearing that jacket, she had looked utterly cold and miserable.

"If you're looking for the Kaijo guys, they won't be out yet."

Kuroko's head shoots up, and she catches sight of a flash of dark blue hair just barely visible by the light spilling out of the doorway. Aomine-kun stands with his back to her to the right of the door, his hands shoved into the pockets of his enormous, puffy jacket. She slips in between the gaps of the crowd with practiced ease, sliding behind a dip in the wall housing a staff door.

"If you're thinking about seeking revenge on Kise, forget about it." Aomine-kun's voice is detached, bored despite the fact that he had been the one to initiate the conversation in the first place.

"Daiki..." The voice comes from the shadows, too dark for even Kuroko to see through, but she doesn't need her eyesight to determine who it is. Haizaki-kun, in that split second, sounds surprisingly vulnerable.

"I'll let you go if you keep quiet and turn back right now."

Haizaki-kun scoffs, and the moment shatters as derision fills his voice. Kuroko is frozen to the spot as the arrogance and easy dismissal reenters his voice, all too reminiscent of back when he was still a regular at Teiko, when he watched her with lidded eyes, when she couldn't distinguish between real and fake pain as she pushed against his torso with her left hand while he pinned her right hand to the locker. "Like I care, moron? I can do whatever the hell I want."

"If it's basketball, nobody'll complain whatever you do. But don't use some other stupid tactic to disrupt their battle."

 _Nobody?_ Kuroko flinches slightly. _She cares_.

"That makes me laugh." A short chuckle emphasizes his words. "Were you always this much of a spineless bitch?"

"You simply lost against Kise, Haizaki." Aomine-kun yawns, not even bothering to hide it. "You realize how much he and Tetsu have been training till now? Don't do any more stupid things."

"I see...that's all the more reason to crush them." Kuroko's hair stands on end, and even though her first instinct is to draw back into herself, she peers around the corner, straining her eyes to see what exactly is going on. She can just barely make out a flash of light reflecting off of Haizaki-kun's eyes glinting behind Aomine-kun's solid form. "I told you I didn't care. Unfortunately for you, I don't give a rat's ass about basketball, unlike all of you. If you want me to stop...then you're going to have to stop me by force!"

Haizaki-kun's last words end in a growl, and Kuroko dashes out of her spot as panic and terror beat a steady rhythm throughout her entire body. Haizaki-kun rushes at Aomine-kun, fist cocked back, maniacal grin spreading his lips. Kuroko opens her mouth-whether to shout or cry, she doesn't know-but before she can do anything, Aomine-kun smoothly sidesteps the charge with the ease of someone far too familiar with the situation, and then a sickening crack sounds.

Haizaki-kun crashes to the ground, a bruise already forming on his swollen cheek.

"Then, I'll go ahead and do that," Aomine-kun growls, shaking out his fist and flexing his fingers. "Now...what to do from here?"

Kuroko can't look away from Haizaki-kun's prone form on the ground. She's torn between walking away from this scene and erasing it from her memory or rushing forward to help him. It seems like Haizaki-kun was knocked out cold by the punch.

Aomine-kun sighs, spinning around. His eyes widen when they land on her. "Tetsu."

Kuroko swallows, eyes sliding past Aomine-kun to continue staring at Haizaki-kun. "Does...does he need medical attention?"

Aomine-kun shrugs, ambling forward and stopping directly in front of Kuroko, blocking her view of the silver-haired teen in the process. "Probably not. He'll just have a nice, soft jaw for awhile. And even if he did, what business of that is your's?"

Kuroko's eyes narrow on Aomine-kun, who continues to watch her with an attentive intensity that looks out of place on his usually lax features (when he's not playing-that's a completely different story). "I make it my business to help people when they're in trouble."

Aomine-kun laughs, and genuine amusement flickers in his eyes. Kuroko stares unabashedly. It's a sharp contrast to the Aomine-kun he had been before, the one who found no joy in life, and especially not in basketball. "What else could be expected of Kuroko Tetsuya, huh? So you'd even help this guy without a second thought?" When Kuroko falters, Aomine-kun smirks-not an ugly one, but soft, full of sympathy, and maybe that's even worse than the razor sharp smirk would've been. "That's what I thought. Leave him be, Tetsu. He's not worth it. A disgrace like him deserves to be left on the ground, where he belongs."

 _You're one to talk_ , Kuroko wants to say, but bites her tongue. It's a sudden, completely uncharacteristic thought for her to have, especially when Aomine-kun had only been trying to protect her. _Maybe it's that. Maybe she doesn't like the way he's handling her, as if she's a toddler who doesn't know better than to play with fire._

Instead, all she simply says is, "You're not the one who gets to judge that," and ducks around Aomine-kun, trekking towards Haizaki-kun, who still hasn't stirred. She _is_ , in fact, acting like a child, but then Aomine-kun sighs and follows after her. She supposes that that did a good enough of a job.

Kuroko kneels down next to Haizaki-kun's face. She reaches out, gently tilting his face towards her. His eyes are closed, and the bruising seems most prominent at the corner of his mouth. Kuroko frowns slightly at the discoloration, reaching out and lightly brushing her fingers against it. The flesh gives a little where it shouldn't, and Kuroko turns her head up to shoot an unamused glare at Aomine-kun, who easily reads the microscopic expression.

He shrugs nonchalantly, hands still shoved deep into his pockets. "I did tell you that that was going to happen."

"Aomine-kun," Kuroko admonishes, hands dropping to her side uselessly. There's really nothing she can do. She hadn't bothered to bring anything with her other than her phone and keys after rushing out of her apartment to make it on time for the game, which she was very lucky to get to, and Aomine-kun isn't the type to carry around extra medical supplies. She could call the hospital, but for all her good intentions, she highly doubts that Haizaki-kun would consider them once he hunts her down after breaking out of the room. "You should at least take some responsibility."

Aomine-kun snorts. "Like I want to do anything for a rapist."

Kuroko's eyes cut over to him. Her ex-light has his face turned determinedly away from him. At least he understands that he just said something that he really shouldn't have. "He's still a person, Aomine-kun."

"What, so if he were a murderer, you'd be treating him the same way? You got fucking _pissed_ at Hanamiya Makoto for bashing on your teammates, and the guy who assaulted you gets a fucking free pass?"

Kuroko breathes out through her nose, sitting back on her heels. "Hanamiya-san is a completely different matter-"

"Yeah, and the only difference is that he dissed your precious _teammates_ instead of you." Kuroko can practically feel Aomine-kun's scowl as he steps over Haizaki-kun's body and kneels down so that Kuroko is forced to look into his eyes. "I'm starting to wonder whether you hate yourself or just have no self-respect. What's up with this whole 'well, I'm not _that_ important' attitude, huh, Tetsu?"

Kuroko holds Aomine-kun's gaze for as long as she can before she has to look away, lightly fiddling with the sleeve of her jacket. She smooths out the rumpled age and covers her busy hand with the other. "My teammates mean a lot to me."

Aomine-kun sighs, running a hand over his face. "Tetsu-"

"And that's it," Kuroko cuts Aomine-kun off shortly, standing up. There's really nothing that she can do right now, both in regards to Haizaki-kun's jaw and Aomine-kun's interrogation. The latter topic is the one she's avoiding the most here at this point. "Please, Aomine-kun. I really, _really_ don't want to do this right now."

Her ex-light stares at her for a moment. She thinks that he's about to push her more when he sighs and stands, jerking his head to the side and asking gruffly, "Want to go to Maji? I'll be you a vanilla milkshake."

Kuroko smiles faintly, hoping that her gratitude and relief aren't as obvious as they feel. "Sure."

* * *

Kuroko sits across from Aomine-kun in the fast food restaurant, sipping the largest size milkshake that Maji has. Despite the time of night, the joint is bustling with activity-teenagers enjoying a late night snake, harried looking business men who barely have the time to grab dinner, people looking for a shelter from the cold temperature outside.

Aomine-kun takes a bite out of his burger, resting his chin on a hand. More than a few girls spread throughout the establishment shoot him cursory glances, giggling to each other behind their hands. Kuroko takes a long sip before remarking casually, "You were always popular with the girls, even back then."

Aomine-kun blinks at the sudden, and quite honestly random, icebreaker before smirking, tossing his hair, "That's to be expected, you know. I am pretty sexy."

Kuroko raises an eyebrow. "I don't see it."

That's a lie. Kuroko is far from blind. She's seen each of her ex-teammates change and grow, which means that when they hit puberty, she means that puberty hit _them_ like a truck. Aomine-kun especially. He grew from a scrawny stick of a boy to a well-muscled, sharp-chinned teenaged in just the period of time in between first and second year. Even with everything that had been going on, Kuroko had been aware of her teammates, her friends.

Aomine-kun waves his hand dismissively, taking another bite out of his burger. "You never counted in the first place. Besides the fact that we consider you to be our sister, we were convinced that you're either les or ace."

Kuroko almost chokes on her milkshake. As it is, she coughs harshly into her napkin before staring up at Aomine-kun through teary eyes. "What?"

Aomine-kun grins, a slight wistfulness edging the expression. "Yeah. Even Akashi thought so too."

"He was probably messing with you," Kuroko grumbles as sullenly as she can (which, to the outsider, is not very sullen at all), lightly stabbing her straw through the hole of the cap into the creamy mound of liquid ice cream. "Seijūrō's the ace. Uncle wasn't very happy about it when he came out, but it's not like he could do anything. Seijūrō''s the rightful heir, after all. It's not like he can be discarded for something as trivial as sexual preference."

"Trivial? Nah, I don't think so." Aomine-kun polishes off his burger, wiping his greasy hands on a wad of napkins. "Honestly, I'm not all that surprised. Akashi doesn't seem the type to get all hot and heavy."

Kuroko shakes her head, trying to fix her mind of the disturbing images that Aomine-kun's words prompted. "Please keep in mind that this is my cousin we're talking about. I really don't need to think about that."

Aomine-kun grins rakishly, leaning back and crossing his arms behind his head. "Well, what about you?"

"Huh?"

"Ever gotten off to anything?"

Kuroko's cheeks feel like they're on fire. It's a cumulation of everything in this conversation so far, but that last question is probably the main reason. "Excuse me?"

"Ah, come on, Tetsu. It's not like you're all that innocent either. You're sixteen-years-old. There's no way that you haven't masturbated at least once." Aomine-kun grins again, leaning forward as if he hadn't just asked an extremely invasive question in a completely insensitive fashion. "So what gets your engine running?"

There are so many things wrong about this situation. "Nothing," she finally manages to get out after a few seconds of trying. "I can't even think about it after Haizaki-kun..."

Kuroko lapses into silence, staring down at the milkshake clenched in her trembling hands. She doesn't know why she told Aomine-kun the truth. She hasn't even told Seijūrō, although that could just be because her cousin wouldnt understand. He's not really the best person to go to when it comes to sexuality... or romanticism... or anything to do with feelings. Someone like Aomine-kun, who had been her first crush (yes, she'll admit it, if only because she no longer sees him as anything more than a friend), doesn't exactly inspire trust when it comes to the more fragile sides of her.

And yet she's admitted something so personal without much prompting on his side.

"I was wrong."

Kuroko's head snaps up, wide light blue eyes meeting eyes just a few shades darker. "What?"

"It's not that you don't have self-respect." Aomine-kun's arms drop to his side's as he leans forward, eyes boring intently into Kuroko's. "It's that you have too much. You're pretty proud, you know that? You're not about to reveal that you're still scared of him even though you have full reason to."

Kuroko's grip tightens on her cup, and she feels a tightness in her throat and chest. She struggles to keep her mask in check, even as Aomine-kun's gaze softens and he reaches out, lightly brushing the back of his fingers across her cheek. "You're holding onto the only thing you believe you have control over-your emotions. Tetsu, you don't have to."

Kuroko lets out a slightly wet chuckle, pulling away from Aomine-kun and taking a long, loud slurp out of her cup. "When'd you become so smart, Aomine-kun? If only you had this sort of insight before everything went to hell."

Aomine-kun has also learned when to look sheepish, and he does a very good job of it and his eyes doesn't away from her face and his hand reached around to scratch the back of his head. "I'm...sorry. Honestly. I still don't understand everything, but..."

"Baby steps," Kuroko finishes, scraping the bottom of the cup with her straw. "That's a good idea."

"Same with you too, you know?" Aomine-kun grins, and Kuroko wonders when all these people have grown so much.

_Is it them stagnating or is it her?_

"Yeah."


	35. Thirty Fifth: Conclusions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The more I write from Fuji's POV, the more I realize how much it sounds like he has a crush.
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Fuji doesn't know what to do.

It's a rare occurrence, and the majority of these cases include, result in, or are instigated by one Echizen Ryoma.

After Fuji had confirmed Ryo-chan's whereabouts through texting Hanamiya Makoto (and also enduring several rounds of angry cursing because Hanamiya doesn't know the first thing about Yanagi and the power of his omniscient notebook) and the two of them together kicked Akutsu out, Fuji had taken her back to his house. The reason he gave Hanamiya was that she had been encroaching upon his personal space.

The unspoken reason was that Fuji trusts Hanamiya as much as he trusts Akashi with a pair of scissors, which is currently in the negative thousand percents right about now.

Ryo-chan had hardly said anything the entire way back to his house, barely even complaining when he manhandled her out of the corner she had ben glued to after Akutsu stormed out with Hanamiya's mug. She didn't acknowledge his presence the entire walk, instead keeping her eyes forward, mind wandering somewhere Fuji can't follow her to.

Now he sits at the kitchen table, staring down into a teacup with the dregs of the tea that had been in there minutes ago. He'll never understand what Yumiko sees in these. The tea leaves are just soggy bundles on the bottom of the tea cup to him. How Yumiko can either divine or bluff the meaning out of them, Fuji will never understand.

Ryo-chan sits in the other room. He can see half of her through the open doorway connecting the kitchen to the living room. Her eyes are glued to the TV screen, though they're unfocused and far, far away from the drama playing out in front of her. She had changed out of her clothes into a pair of Yuuta's old pajamas he had outgrown years ago. The sleeves still have to be rolled up so that they won't fall over her hands, and the pants legs extend far past her toes.

"Aniki? What're you doing up so early? What's Ryoma doing here?"

Fuji nods distractedly, half because he wants to let Yuuta know that he heard him without having to open his mouth, and half because the question hadn't registered in his mind. Yuuta snorts, and Fuji hears some shuffling before his younger brother cuts across his vision, pulling out a chair directly in front of him, blocking his view of Ryo-chan. Fuji frowns, opening his mouth to tell him to move, but Yuuta beats him to the punch. "Give her a break, okay? Trust me, I know how creepy it is to feel your eyes on me. She'll be fine. She's a strong girl."

Fuji slowly nods, eyes sliding closed again. Lately, he hasn't been keeping his eyes closed all that much. In fact, the longest period of time in which he kept his eyes consistently closed was when he was sleeping. It's a disturbing thought, that he hadn't been aware of how much his way of life has shifted until now.

"So, what happened? Nee-san isn't here, and I don't see Karupin. And..." Yuuta frowns slightly, glancing over his shoulder before turning back to Fuji, dark gray eyes serious and solemn. "she looks sad."

For once in his life, Fuji is the one who feels intimidated, although that clearly isn't Yuuta's intention. Still, the steady gaze Yuuta levels on Fuji holds an almost accusatory spark, although Fuji himself wasn't the one who put that expression on her face. "I don't even know what happened. All I could get out of her was that Akutsu Jin did something. She hasn't said anything since."

Yuuta frowns, rocking back in his chair and taking a swig out of the bottle of flavored milk in his hands. His other hand reaches, up brushing against the scar on his face while he balances precariously on the back two legs of the chair. Fuji would scold him if not for how emotionally drained he is right now and for the fact that Yuuta's been doing this since he was old enough to sit in a chair. "Akutsu? Isn't that the...oh. Right." Yuuta lightly drums his fingers against the bottle. "Knowing you, you've probably already confronted him."

Fuji nods, setting the cup down on the blue saucer in front of him. The tea leaves shift in place, and he wonders what Yumiko would say about that. "He definitely did something, and he's aware of it. He didn't even bother denying it...just left, without fighting as much as I would've expected." Resigned brown eyes flash through his mind, not nearly a satisfying expression as Fuji had thought it would be. "I don't know what to do, Yuuta," he admits in low tones, unable to look up because he's never admitted something so personal about himself. He doesn't even know why, but right now he's unsettled and insecure.

A hand wraps around Fuji's right hand, and then Yuuta whispers in the most comforting voice he's ever heard come out of his younger brother's mouth, "You don't need to do anything, Aniki. Let Ryoma think. Sometimes, you have to leave us alone before we can become better people. Look at me. If I had stayed in Seigaku, I wouldn't be the person I am right now, and in all honesty, Aniki?" Fuji can hear the grin in Yuuta's voice as he leans forward to whisper conspiratorially, "I really like who I am right now. I mean, 'Southpaw Killer?' I never would've gotten that name if I had stayed in your shadow at Seigaku."

Yuuta squeezes Fuji's hand firmly once before standing up, ambling out of the kitchen. Right before he leaves, he calls over his shoulder, "You should go to sleep soon. Looks like Ryoma's already gotten a head start on both of us. And you might want to start making up a story for mom when she wakes up and finds her passed out on the living room couch. Night."

Fuji glances away from Yuuta's retreating back, standing up and dropping the empty cup in the sink as he walks towards Ryo-chan. True to Yuuta's words, she lays on the couch at a slightly uncomfortable angle, her neck stretched taut with her head leaning one way and her body the other. Her arms are wrapped around her midsection, legs curled up under her body. Whenever she's awake, it's easy to forget that Ryo-chan is only thirteen years old. It's easy to forget that she's still developing, as a woman and as a human. She has such a larger than life personality, all sharp edges and hidden concern, stuffed into a body that most thirteen-year-olds don't have.

It's easy to forget that Ryo-chan is still human.

Swallowing, Fuji carefully straightens her out, laying her down on her back and pulling her legs out from under her. Her hands clutch at her sides with an intensity that makes Fuji hesitant to pull them away from her waist, so instead, he pulls a blanket down from a shelf in the coat closet and spreads it out over her shivering body. She must've been really cold, he realizes belatedly, noting the way she automatically shifts into the back of the coach, where her body heat would've been trapped from having sitting there for a solid hour or so. The tea he had made her sits undisturbed on the low coffee table, now cold, with all the particles having settled at the bottom.

Turning off the TV, which had been playing an American movie, Fuji picks up the tea and pours the liquid down the drain before setting the cup in the sink. As he turns to turn the lights off, his eyes catch on the dregs of Ryo-chan's cup.

If he looks closely enough, their formation resembles crescent moon.

* * *

Fuji wonders why he's surprised when he walks downstairs and finds Ryo-chan sitting at the table in the kitchen, playing with the edges of her sleeves and providing monosyllable answers to Yuuta's attempts at making conversation while their mother bustles around in the background, enough ingredients piled across the counters to feed a starving family of twelve. He greets his mother first with a kiss on the cheek, and as he parts from her, she gives him a meaningful look, one that says "we'll talk later about this."

It's a good thing that she sees Ryo-chan as the second daughter she never had.

Fuji pulls out a chair next to Yuuta, diagonal of Ryo-chan, not wanting to push things more than he already has. After tossing and turning over Yuuta's words, Fuji had eventually come to the conclusion that he's very close to making the same mistake he had made with Yuuta-but this time, it'll be his relationship with Ryo-chan that he'll be hurting. "Good morning, Yuuta, Ryo-chan."

The two echo his greeting, one more subdued than the other, and then Ryo-chan is back to picking at the sleeves of the shirt, staring pointedly at the table. Yuuta raises his eyebrows at Fuji, jerking his head at her before standing up and asking in an unnecessarily loud voice what mother needs help with. Fuji leans forward slightly, staring intently at Ryo-chan's bowed head before she huffs in exasperation and raises her head, burning golden eyes meeting Fuji's opened blue ones. His lips tilt up slightly. "You're looking a little better today, aren't you?"

Ryo-chan glares at him, hands curling into fists, and Fuji internally beats himself over the head because _shit_ , his default when dealing with her and Yuuta is patronization, and that _obviously_ doesn't work. He scrambles to recover without making his slight panic obvious. "That's a good look in your eyes. Better than before."

Her glare doesn't abate, and Fuji resigns himself to a breakfast full of awkward silences except for Yuuta's and mother's attempts at small talk (what the hell is the matter with him? When does he ever _resign_ himself to something?) when she suddenly says, "Thank you."

Fuji is immediately thrown for a loop, resulting in him staring at her until she snorts, raising an eyebrow. "What's with that face? Did you really expect me to not thank you for letting me sleep in your house?"

Fuji shakes his head before realizing what it means in context. "No, it's not that I didn't think you wouldn't thank me-"

"Oh, so you were graciously waiting to accept my gratitude," Ryo-chan scoffs, crossing her arms.

Panic wells up inside of Fuji, and he just barely manages to keep himself from stammering out, "I'm sorry," before he realizes belatedly that Ryo-chan's shoulders are shaking, eyes glistening in the light, as she tries her hardest to mask the way her lips are twitching up. It's not even that funny, but when Fuji's panicked expression goes slack, Ryo-chan bursts into giggles. Fuji sighs, resting his cheek on his hand and bracing his arm against the table. There's really no point in stopping her now, and besides-it's nice to see her laughing after how dangerously detached she had been earlier this morning.

Yuuta cycles back a couple minutes later, and he's smiling brightly as he sets the table with four sets of cutlery. It looks like father left early again. Fuji tries not to frown as Yuuta succeeds in pulling Ryo-chan into a conversation about Winter Cup, growing especially excited when she casually mentions that she's acquainted with the "Generation of Miracles." He's been leaving early and coming back late for the past few months. Although it's not obvious at first glance, mother has slowly become more and more tired, aging a couple years over the course of a couple months. All she and Yumiko do now is fight, over the phone, during family gatherings, downstairs in the kitchen when they think that Fuji and Yuuta are both tucked in bed, sleep in sound.

Fuji isn't an idiot.

It's dangerous waters that father is treading, and Fuji is trying his hardest to help his mother and Yumiko hold the boat together. He isn't even sure whether Yuuta knows or not, but if he's been as perspective of their family as he was about Fuji and Ryo-chan, Yuuta probably does know. It's a testament to how much their relationship has changed since a year ago that Fuji doesn't quite care as much.

"Breakfast is ready," mother calls, and then Yuuta is up, nudging Fuji out of his chair to help bring the food to the table. Mother seems to have remembered Ryo-chan's preferences, because a full, traditional Japanese meal spreads across the table. He glances up at Ryo-chan, who stares at the food before her, a clearly overwhelmed look spreading across her face. Yuuta lightly squeezes her shoulder as he drops into the chair beside her, and she ducks her head, hair falling over her face. It's grown longer, Fuji realizes. The ends of her hair brush he collarbones, and the longest strands reach her chest.

He wonders when she'll get it cut.

She presses her hands together, bowing her head further over the plate. "Itadakimasu," she murmurs, and mother smiles warmly and fondly from her position by the table.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," Fuji murmurs, mimicking her actions before picking up his chopsticks and picking up a clump of rice.

She smiles, and it's tremulous enough for him to want to send a picture to Akutsu Jin with a follow up message of _this is what you did._

* * *

After breakfast, the three of them leave with tennis bags in hand as they head towards the street courts. Fuji and Ryo-chan haven't been playing much tennis lately, since she's been dragging the team around to watch basketball games. Her eyes are brighter and there's a slight bounce in her step as she drains her third can of Ponta.

Her eyes only get brighter when they reach the courts, and a group of familiar players appear in her line of sight. "Take-senpai!Kao-senpai! Eiji-senpai! Chiro-senpai! Sada-senpai!"

Her loud shouts draw the attention of everyone on the courts, but the group of players grin and rush forward, swarming around her and filling the air with enthusiastic greetings and raucous laughter.

Yuuta grumbles under his breath, shouldering his bag and heading down to the last court, where he's greeted by the players there.

Fuji stands at the edge of the crowd of Seigaku and non-Seigaku players, waiting out the maelstrom of noise before they finally notice him. Eiji pops out of the crowd first, blue eyes twinkling as he throws himself at Fuji and wraps himself around him. "Syuusuke! It's been so long!"

"It has been, hasn't it?" Fuji responds, awkwardly hugging him with one arm as the other was preoccupied with trying to keep his tennis bag from falling to the ground after being jostled by Eiji's overzealous hug. "How has school been?"

"Let's not talk about school when we're on the tennis cpurts! How about doubles? Me and Shuichiro versus you and Ochibi-chan!"

Fuji raises an eyebrow, glancing over Eiji's shoulder towards Ryo-chan. She extracts herself from the crowd, making her way towards the two of them, a fourth can of Ponta clutched in her hand. "Sure, why not? I've been brushing up on my doubles skills, you know?"

Eiji cheers, jumping off of Fuji and hopping around in a circle. "Yeah! Shuichiro! Let's play!"

It turns out that while Ryo-chan might've been working on her doubles skills, her attempts haven't been successful. Three times out of five, Echizen's serves hit him in the head, back, or butt, the spin on the balls doing nasty things to Fuji's skin. She continuously chases every ball, even when they're clearly in Fuji's domain, and whenever he does hit the ball, she pouts and sulks, ultimately losing that point.

Eiji and Shuichiro beat them soundly 6-1, with the only reason why Fuji and Ryo-chan managed to cinch a single game being that she used Samurai Zone until she nearly passed out.

"'Brushing up on my double skills,' my ass," Fuji grumbles as he hands Ryo-chan an energy drink from the vending machine. She eyes the orange-colored drink with obvious distaste, and Fuji sighs, shoving the bottle further into her hand. "No more Ponta until you finish this entire bottle. You need the electrolytes."

Ryo-chan pouts, swiping at the sweat running down her face before grudgingly accepting the drink. Eiji bounces up behind her, a grin stretching his lips. It looks like he has finally taken off the band-aid that had been on his cheek for the majority of junior high, revealing the thin, jagged white scar he had been so self-conscious of. Fuji wonders when that happened. "I can't believe you, Ochibi-chan! I didn't even have to use any of my new moves! Your doubles play is even worse now than it was a year ago! How is that even possible?"

"It's because she's Ryoma," Takeshi laughs, dropping down onto the bench and pushing Ryo-chan's legs out of the way. His violet eyes are fond as he reaches forward and pokes her on the stomach. "And she doesn't know the first thing about communication."

"Shut up," she grumbles, slapping Takeshi's hand away from her midsection and pushing herself up. She takes a sip of the sports drink, scrunching her face up as the liquid hits her tongue. "Ugh, disgusting. Ryoga used to drink these all the time. Never understood how he managed to get them down. They're like cough syrup with extra sugar."

"Ponta has at least two times the amount of sugar in this drink," Sadaharu announces, popping out from behind Fuji and scaring Takeshi and Eiji half to death. Ryo-chan just screws up her face even more, pinching her nose closed and gulping half the bottle before coming up for air, coughing and spluttering. "Ryoma, you really shouldn't do that."

"It's the only way I'm ever going to finish this before next week," Ryo-chan grumbles sullenly, breathing in deeply and repeating the same process. A fourth of the bottle is left by the time she takes another breath.

"Couldn't you have staggered this?" Fuji asks, watching as she drains the last bit of liquid and gags into the bottle once she's done. "Now you're going to have to wait before you can pay anymore tennis."

"Now you tell me?" she groans, capping the bottle and setting it on the ground. She flops back again, head hanging over the edge of the bench.

"You should've known this, Ryo-chan, it's basic knowledge for any athlete." Fuji raises an eyebrow at Takeshi and Eiji, who are both grinning from ear to ear. "Can you believe that this is the girl who competed in the US Open's men's section at twelve?"

"Nope," Takeshi laughs while Eiji empathetically shakes his head. Ryo-chan makes a sound of annoyance, placing her hands on their faces and pushing them away.

"Go play some tennis," she snaps, waving her hands in a shooing motion, "I'll join you guys later."

"Kirihara wants a rematch!" Takeshi calls over his shoulder as the two make their way back to the courts. "Be sure to catch him before Rikkai has to leave."

Ryo-chan's pout softens into a wistful smile as she watches their former teammates head back into the informal practice match Seigaku and Rikkai had arranged over break. There are a more than a few new faces among the regulars, although some alumni had made time to come back. No Rakuzan players are here (Fuji and Ryo-chan being a complete coincidence), but the non-Rakuzan alumni have showed up. Even Niou, the troublemaker, is here, shooting curious and more than a little mischievous glances towards Ryo-chan and Fuji.

"Do you regret going to Rakuzan?"

"Huh?" Ryo-chan tears her eyes away from the scene, glancing up at Fuji.

"Would you rather have stayed at Seigaku instead of following us? You've missed two years of one of the best periods of your life..." Fuji thinks back to what Akutsu had said while they combed the city for Ryo-chan. She had spent hours in the library, working hard and studying up so she could ace the entrance exams. They had all just assumed that it was just something she did. The genius rookie player, wonder girl, who's smart in both sports and academics. Who excels in all. Learning that she had to work hard to do all this...it's a shock when it really shouldn't have been, and that's what makes the entire misunderstanding even worse. "At Rakuzan, you're at least two years younger than everyone there."

Ryo-chan frowns thoughtfully, eyes shifting from Fuji to the sky. She takes awhile gathering her thoughts before slowly articulating, "I think...to a certain extent, I wish I had never gone to Rakuzan. It's awesome, to be on the same team as you and Mitsu-buchou and everyone else, but, well...I miss Take-senpai and Kao-senpai and Tomo and Saku and everyone else. You get to know some amazing people for a single year, and then you leave them behind. It hurts, for everyone. But you know, without Rakuzan, I wouldn't be so close to you, and I never would've met Seijūrō and Tetsu. Without Rakuzan, I'd still be..." She trails off, pursing her lips and glancing away. Fuji can easily fill in the rest of the sentence, and he stops himself from blurting out something he's sure that he would regret saying aloud if he ever does do so. "So I think that I'm happy at Rakuzan right now, even if I had to leave a lot of people."

Fuji slowly nods, looking away from Ryo-chan's face to watch the two teams having a friendly match. Without Ryo-chan, he highly doubts that any of them would be here today. She had been a connection for every player in the middle school circuits, unafraid to communicate with people outside her own team.

When half of the people she had connected with left to go to high school, it's no wonder that she had to follow them.

Behind him, Ryo-chan shuffles around for a little bit before standing up, racket in her hand. Her golden eyes glow in the afternoon light as she shouts, "Akaya! Ready for a beat down?"

A responding, "Hell yeah!" comes from the courts, and Ryo-chan's infectious laughter reaches Fuji's ears as she races towards the court, hair flying behind her.

It's hard to let go of someone so precious.


	36. Thirty Sixth: Snakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hayama is so much like Kise. It's ridiculous.
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

As of right now, Takao is just barely holding onto to his seemingly endless patience by the skin of his teeth. While Shin-chan's reticence about his knowledge of Akashi and where he had disappeared to right before the meeting in the locker room is plenty annoying, the thing that's currently dragging his mind through his ass is this _situation_ with Tetsu-chan.

He doesn't know "Ryoma-chan" or "Akutsu-san," but if he ever does het to know them, he'll whoop their asses so hard they won't even be able to eat through a straw; that's how messed up they'll be.

Of course, this sentiment is completely based upon the fact that he had been woken up by Tetsu-chan at five in the morning or some other ungodly hour while he'd been trying to get some rest before he has to face off against her ex-captain. He had been ready to flay her alive with his words (a groggy Takao denied his right to sleep is a Takao that nobody wants to see) when she sobbed loudly into the speakers and Takao was immediately awake and alert.

It didn't take long to extract the events of last night from he, and even though he has no idea who "Ryoma-chan" and "Akutsu-san" are, he tried his best to comfort her, cracking as many jokes about the questionable virtue about Akutsu-san's mother and a donkey or something ridiculous like that in hopes of getting her to life. She ended up laughing, if only because she was just as tired as he had been earlier, apparently having only gotten home a couple minutes ago after Aomine, of all people, dropped her off at her apartment.

Eventually she had fallen asleep in between jokes, which was pretty fortunate because Takao had been very close to running out of them. Takao hung up, burrowed deeper into his covers, and resolved to shake the identities of the two people who had caused a blubbering mess of a meltdown out of Tetsu-chan, but only after Shutoku wins against Rakuzan.

He'd have to apologize for beating Akashi before she could, but, well. Seeing the expression on the smug bastard's face would be completely worth it.

Personally, Takao doesn't have anything against Akashi. Besides the fact that they both play the same positions, Takao's never had a connection with him-besides Tetsu-chan, anyways. He does, however, know people who hold very personal grudges against Akashi, and in all honesty, this is the guy who manned the team that made Takao want to kill himself.

It's no wonder that Takao wouldn't mind seeing him shoulders deep in the floor of a basketball court. Or asphalt. Right in front of a thirty-floor building.

Okay...so maybe that's a bit dark.

Takao keeps to himself as he dresses, ignoring the concerned looks thrown his way by his teammates. He feels slightly guilty that he's worrying them, but then he thinks about Tetsu-chan crying all alone in an apartment that her parents never come back to, and then Akashi Seijūrō, who's pretty much the harbinger of every bad thing that has ever happened to a teenage basketball player in Japan, and he can't bring himself to laugh at the things he would normally be laughing at.

He does manage a smile when Miyaji-senpai gives Shin-chan hell for being second-ranked in the horoscope today.

After a blood bumping cheer, Otsubo-senpai leads Shutoku out of the locker room and towards the courts. Takao can hear the deafening cheering, and he hopes that Tetsu-chan's sitting somewhere in those stands, watching as Shutoku absolutely crushes Rakuzan in the semi-finals.

"It's the qualifying veterans eleven years straight!"

"The king of veterans, Shutoku High School!"

Takao grins, heart beating fast as he walks among the regulars of a legendary basketball school. Sometimes, it fully sinks in, the fact that he's part of a team that's rich in basketball history. That he's a regular on that team. That he's partners, that he's _friends_ with one of the Generation of Miracles, a team that'll go down in history as one of the most amazing-and one of the most monstrous.

"And here they come!"

"The strongest high school..."

"The emperor since the beginning of time..."

"Rakuzan High School!"

Even on opposite sides of the courts, Takao can see and hear them perfectly care. Akashi's fuchsia-colored hair is a big part of the former. He doesn't recognize the other members of Rakuzan's team, though he remembers from Otsubo-senpai's briefing yesterday that except for Akashi, all of Rakuzan's regulars are Crownless Generals. With Kiyoshi and Hanamiya being part of different schools, these three must be Mibuchi Reo, Hayama Kotaro, and Nebuya Eikichi.

"I overate..." Takao's eyes slant towards the owner of the loud, rumbling voice-a heavily muscled, dark-skinned regular who's sporting a goatee and a thin lining of hair on top of his jawline. He rubs at his neck, stretching out his shoulders.

"You're filthy!" Another teen with pale skin and very feminine features exclaims, shying away from his (her? It's really hard to tell) teammate. "What's with binge eating right before the game?"

The muscled one pauses in his neck rubbing, glancing over at the pretty boy. "I get more power when I eat meat."

"Still, look!" The last general interrupts, green eyes wide and bright, far too reminiscent of another blonde who likes to cling to Tetsu-chan with the ferocity of an octopus lovingly strangling its prey. "Those guys! They're badass!"

He points directly at Shutoku, although the finger seems mostly directed at Shin-chan, who sits silently besides Takao, clutching to his shogi piece tightly.

"You're so noisy," the pretty boy bemoans.

"They really look strong!" the blonde shouts, rocking from side to side. Takao swears that there are sparkles in his eyes. "So badass!" He whirls around, glancing back at Akashi, the only one sitting at the bench. "Right, Akashi?"

"Yes. They are strong." Akashi's voice is smooth, matter-of-fact. Through the milling bodies in between the Skutoku and Rakuzan benches, Takao can just make out Akashi's hands tying his shoelaces.

"Sei-chan, you're starting?"

"I have the coach's approval."

The blonde cheers unintelligibly, pumping both fists into the air.

The muscled one rolls his shoulders, tilting his head from side to side with audible (and extremely loud) pops. "That's good news. Our opponents till now have been way too easy. Wish I'd eaten more."

A vibrating sound draws everyone's attention back to Akashi, who slips his hand into the pocket of the jacket he had just shucked off. Most players leave their phones in their lockers, since it's not like they'll be needing them in during breaks, and devices are less likely to be stolen when locked up. Then again, Akashi isn't "most players," and from what he's heard and deduced, Akashi isn't one to follow conventions either.

He checks whatever pops up on his phone screen, and Takao raises an eyebrow at the first discernibly genuine expression on Akashi's face: a slight purse of the lips and furrowing of the brow. The moment passes, and Akashi's face smooths out, his phone disappearing back into his jacket pocket.

Takao wonders who had caused such an expression from Akashi Seijūrō himself.

Akashi's teammates seem interested in this development as well. The pretty boy and blonde exchange looks before the former says in a not very convincing casual tone, "So, Sei-chan...who was that?"

Akashi gives him a very dry look before smoothly answering, "Just some business I have to take care of after the match."

The blonde grins slyly, nudging Akashi's jacket. "Really? Because I could've sworn I saw something completely different. Oh, I don't know-maybe Ryoma letting you know that she's not going to be here to watch us playing this match?"

Takao blinks, feeling as if he's suddenly been submerged in a bucket of ice water. _Ryoma_. Tetsu-chan had been talking about a "Ryoma-chan" yesterday night, blubbering her name in between apologies about things that Takao didn't, and still doesn't, understand. All he knows is that this "Ryoma-chan" is the reason Tetsu-chan had been crying.

It's too much of a coincidence. There's no way that this is the same Ryoma...right? Besides, Ryoma is a boy's name. Tetsu-chan follows the rules of honorifics down to a T-she'll never call a boy with the honorific _-chan_ attached to the end of his name. Maybe they're two different Ryoma's.

"...ask Tetsuya what happened to her," Akashi is saying when Takao tunes back in, and while Takao is missing a lot of information, he highly doubts that the two Miracles are talking about different Ryoma's.

The conversation moves on, and Takao groans, tightening the laces on his shoes even though they're already tight enough. Who is this "Ryoma-chan," and how in the world does she know the regulars of Rakuzan so closely?

"Takao?"

He quickly whips his head up, meeting Otsubo-senpai's eyes. His face is as serious as ever, but Takao knows his captain well enough to discern the concern in his eyes. Takao exhales, setting his foot back on the ground. "They're a strong team."

Otsubo-senpai nods gravely, glancing back towards Rakuzan's bench. "There's no doubting that."

"I though they'd be a lot less...companionable. But they're acting pretty normally." That's true. Takao hadn't particularly expected much teamwork when it comes to Rakuzan. Especially considering Otsubo-senpai's debriefing yesterday, Takao had expected to be playing against a much quieter Touou.

He certainly hadn't expected the banter and teasing going on over there.

A burst of pain originates from Miyaji-senpai's hand slapping the back of his head, and then he's snapping, "What're you saying? I'll fry you! If anything, they're abnormal."

Takao rubs the back of his head, looking back at Rakuzan. He can't see anything abnormal. Except for maybe the fact that Akashi's texting someone a couple minutes before a game when he should be talking to his team.

"Akashi's wearing number four, which means that he's captain. Normally, a first year never could be, no matter how good he is. What's even more abnormal is that the entire team, including the bench, shows no sign of discontent."

"And that includes the Uncrowned Kings," Kimura-senpai adds. "Each of them is quite a stickler, full of pride. And all of them are accepting of this. For those in the know, it's nothing but abnormal. At least...you wouldn't call someone who can make others so naturally subservient normal."

A shiver runs through Takao, even as the two teams stand to walk onto court. The game is about to start.

Shin-chan and Akashi meet in the center of the court. Takao's teammate pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose with taped fingers, gazing down at Akashi from his loftier vantage point. Despite the height difference, Akashi doesn't look any smaller than Shin-chan. "I'll get this win, Akashi."

"That's impossible, Shintaro" Akashi's voice is the smoothest, coldest one Takao has ever heard-disturbingly calm and unshakeable. "Have you ever had me resign even once?"

"Shogi and basketball are different."

"They're the same," Akashi disagrees, eyes slanted. Takao can just barely make out the two different colors-when the same bright reddish, pinkish color of his hair, the other a pale orange. "I have not once in my life said anything in error." His eyelids raise slightly, irises glinting tauntingly up at Shin-chan. "I win in everything, and everything I say is correct."

Crazy. The bastard is absolutely crazy.

_"The Winter Cup's first semi-final game between Rakuzan and Sgutoku will now begin! Bow!"_

Takao tilts his head down, surreptitiously looking up at the person standing across from him. Silver hair, pale skin, frail body. The boy reminds him a lot of Tetsu-chan, straight down to the expressionless face he sports.

"Let's have a good game!"

The tip off starts off, and the ball is hit towards Takao. He grabs hold of it, fueled by adrenaline and his team's encouraging shouts of, "All right!"

This is good. They're starting off well.

Takao turns, and he catches sight of the closer Rakuzan players moving toward him. His face splits into a wide grin, and he laughs, "Just kidding!"

With a flick of the wrist, he tosses the ball behind him, where Shin-chan catches it.

"Everything you say is correct?" Shin-chan's words are softer than his speaking voice, but Takao's sure that Akashi can hear them as his muscles coil in preparation. "Don't make me laugh, Akashi. Someone who's only seen victory shouldn't talk like they know it all."

He jumps up, the ball shooting out from his fingers to soar in an arc up, up, and into the basket. All net.

Perfect. As always.

"Bring it on, Akashi. I'll teach you like I promised...about defeat."

Takao can't smother a giddy grin. _I really hope that you're watching this, Tetsu-chan, that you're listening. You did this. You changed him. That was all you, speaking through him._

Akashi's lips pull up into a mockery of a smile, eyes glinting in the light. "I look forward to it."

Takao starts with the ball, dribbling it by his side while he keeps an eye on his surroundings. Akashi marks him, his narrow eyes raising goosebumps on Takao's arms despite the warm temperature of the stadium, a result of packing hundreds of spectators into the stands. With his Eagle Eye, he watches as Shin-chan dodges his mark, the pretty boy, and Kimura-senpai screens the Rakuzan shooting guard. The blonde is running to intercept, but he won't reach in time. Takao immediately whips the ball towards Shin-chan, who's already in the air. Once again, the ball sinks in without once touching the rim of the hoop.

The next few plays are successful, and the audience is roaring in excitement.

"Not a hint of grazing the ring!"

"It's like we're watching a precision machine!"

The ball goes out-of-bounds on Takao, and Akashi has the ball now. Takao's lips are twisted wryly as he guards Akashi, watching every movement from the player in front of him and the ones behind. _Nothing less than expected from him...look at that aura._ Akashi's exuding tremendous pressure without even moving a single foot. _Hard to believe that he's a first year just like me._ Takao takes a deep breath, holds it for three seconds. Exhales. He can feel Akashi's burning gaze needling at his skin. It's distracting as all hell. _Concentrate. Concentrate, concentrate, concentrate._

Akashi shifts, and Takao moves to block when he suddenly breaks to Takao's right. He immediately recoils, backtracking. _So fast! But..._

Takao turns, matching Akashi step for step, pushing him towards the edge. He doesn't have much time to feel triumphant as Akashi suddenly stops, slipping to the side and setting up for a three-pointer. Takao immediately tries to stop as well, leaping towards Akashi to block the shot when the ball is lobbed over his head, right in between his widespread arms, straight into the hands of Muscles McGee.

"Nice pass!" he calls, moving forward for a layup.

The buzzer sounds, signaling the end of the first quarter. The muscled one's layup made the score an even 16-16. Takao had been hoping they'd be ending on a lead. Stupid of him, to fall for Akashi's feints and ignore the muscled one's prime position. Even so...that had been a momentary lapse of judgement. So why...?

_"The first quarter's over!"_

"The king and the emperor...neither one's budging!"

Takao clicks his tongue at himself, straightening as he glances towards Akashi's retreating back. _What's going on? It's true that he's good...he's definitely skilled, and his field of vision is amazing_. _I have to say he's perfect as a point guard. But the skill difference isn't so great that I can't put up a fight. Is this really the captain of the Generation of Miracles, Akashi Seijūrō?_

Takao follows his teammates back to the bench, murmuring a low "thanks," to the person who hands him a bottle of water. He had played against Akashi in middle school. He was formidable back then. What's the deal with this?

"It's definitely not like Akashi's cutting corners." Takao startles, dragging his eyes away from Rakuzan's bench to stare at his coach. It's as if he had read Takao's mind. "How he's playing reminds me a lot of shogi. He's in thee starting movements, just testing the waters...and if the game state is going to move...yes, it should be soon. So let's set something up first."

* * *

_"The break is over! Starting the second quarter!"_

Takao straightens, stretching out his arms and legs. Shin-chan walks a little ways ahead, calling out to Akashi before he steps out onto court. "Don't take us lightly, Akashi. You're taking it pretty easy, testing the waters all first quarter. You surely can't be thinking you can win without using your Eye?"

"I'm not taking you guys lightly, Shintaro." Akashi's eyes flicker, and his lips pull up into a slight smile. "You could say I'm being as cautious as I can, if that makes you feel better. I can't play my trump card so easily. However, at this rate, the game might be over without me having to."

Shin-chan's eyes narrow. "What did you say?"

Akashi doesn't answer as he turns and makes his way over to his position, the whistle blowing shortly afterwards.

Takao starts off with the ball, eyes flickering between Shin-chan and Akashi, considering. The Eye? What's that? Takao doesn't remember that from the last time they had played. Maybe Akashi didn't have it back then?

_Or maybe he hadn't needed it to utterly slaughter Takao's old middle school team._

Tajao pulls back sharply, still dribbling as he stares at the events unfolding before his eyes.

"They're double-teaming Midorima!"

Shin-chan shifts on his feet, trying to break free, but neither of his marks are letting up. _He's having a hard time? As expected from Rakuzan. Just their training in defense is like nothing else! I'll bet they're on par with Yosen..._

Takao chuckles. "Maa, that's what I though would happen anyways. He passes directly parallel to Akashi, who follows the ball with his eyes. Miyaji-senpai catches the ball, immediately guarded by the blonde who excitedly explains, "Alright, one-on-one! Bring it!"

Miyaji-senpai laughs mockingly, a vein throbbing in his cheek. "What are your eyes twinkling for, huh?"

He drives forward, managing to bypass the blonde with a crossover. He passes the ball to Otsubo-senpai, who dunks the ball in.

"All right!" Miyaji-senpai cheers, violently high-fiving Otsubo-senpai.

"What's with being passed so easy, huh?" the muscled one grumbles, glaring at the blonde, who laughs somewhat sheepishly.

"Sorry, sorry!"

"Come on..." the pretty boy laments, hand popped up on his hip. "You're not asleep, are you? Get a grip!"

"Sorry, sorry!"

"Kotaro." The blonde (who must be Hayama, then) flinches, whirling around to face Akashi.

"I'll totally get payback! Please don't get mad, Akashi!"

"Fine." Akashi's voice is monotone, face flat as he delivers the crushing words. "If you're not up to it, I'll sub you out."

"I'm fine!" Hayama laughs, not one bit bothered by the blatant threat. "I won't lose to anyone when it comes to dribbling!"

As if to emphasize the bold words, Akashi passes the ball to Hayama on the next play. Miyaji-senpai rushes up to block Hayama.

"Oh, it's Hayama!"

"He's going right to payback?"

"Huh?" Miyaji-senpai grins. "Like I'd let you do that!"

"No, I'm gonna do it.' There's a pause before his grin widens, teeth glinting. "I guess three is enough?"

Before Takao can even wonder what that means, a shock ripples throughout the entire stadium, a tiny earthquake whose epicenter is the spot where the ball Hayama had bounced landed. Dribbling harder makes the ball faster and harder to steal, but Takao's never seen anything like this...can it even be called dribbling anymore?

"What I said earlier..." Takao's ears strain to catch the sound of Akashi's soft voice as he talks to Shin-chan, "If it was hard to understand, I'll say it again."

Another large bang draws Takao's attention back to the two players, and in between one blink and another, Hayama has driven past Miyaji-senpai, who can't even twitch a finger in response.

"It's not worth directly doing something. That's all there is to it."

_Akashi, you bastard._

"He got by!"

"What an amazing dribble!"

"Dammnit!" Kimura-senpai jumps to intercept Hayama's run for a layup, but Hayama curls down hand lifting up behind his head. It's a double clutch. The ball goes in.

"It's in!"

"Brilliant! He got past two of Shutoku's defenses!"

Takao glances towards Miyaji-senpai. The usually spirited third year is staring down at the ground, hands clenched into fists at his side. A sort of empty devastation paints itself scross his face, and Otsubo-senpai's encouragement does nothing to dispel the self-directed anger and bitterness. He must've seen it, then-the meaning of "three."

Hayama had been dribbling that ball with only three fingers. A dribble of that power and magnitude was pulled off by only three fingers. It must devastate Miyaji-senpai, to know that Hayama's dribble can be upped two more notches.

Miyaji-senpai can't do anything under Hayama's relentless attacks. His dribbles shake the floors, and Takao's starting to feel a little nauseated. By five minutes into the second quarter, the score is 28-32 in Rakuzan's favor. A six-point gap created within five minutes. Not to mention Miyaji-senpai's continuously diminishing confidence, the tightening defenses that're making it harder and harder to get passes to Sgin-chan, who's the only reason why they've even been able to score, and the overall flagging team morale.

Things aren't looking good.

_Everything's different. It's not just Miyaji-senpai...even Otsubo-senpai is losing when it comes to power. Kimura-senpai is struggling even with the double team on Shin-chan making things easier. Meanwhile, Akashi hasn't done anything yet...just passed to an open position...and even then, we can barely keep up!_

Takao takes a shuddering breath, blinking the sweat out of his eyes. Bastards, the whole lot of them.

What can he do to make this situation better?


	37. Thirty Seventh: Precedents

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hayama-Echizen brotp for the win.
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Hayama's kind of disappointed.

"Did I miscalculate?" he murmurs quietly to himself, frowning down at the floor. He flicks his fingers up, one at a time, matching his mark step for step. "Maybe I should've done only two? I thought he'd be strong enough to put up a fight..."

This match is turning out to be a dud. It was lovely at first-Akashi getting all bothered and put off about Ryoma not showing up being the first gift, then watching Midorima score consecutive three-pointers-all fun, all very entertaining.

He had expected more out of this team.

Looks like Reo-nee is thinking the same thing, because Hayama hears him start to tell Midorima, "Frankly put, everyone other than you is a burden. Sorry to say-"

"What?"

Hayama glances back towards the clump of players, where the two of them are in the middle. He keeps half a mind on their conversation and the other on the player he seems to have overestimated.

"It's true that our double team barely has you in check." Hayama can see the backs of Reo-nee's shoulders rising and falling dismissively. "But the other four are average at best. Especially him...I wonder how long he'll last against Kotaro?"

Hayama smiles somewhat pityingly at Shutoku's number eight, whose eyes frantically search for openings. Desperation does lead to sloppiness, after all. The crowd roars as Akashi steals the ball from Shutoku's point guard's grip, and Hayama makes a break for it, bypassing number eight and heading down court towards the basket. The ball arcs overhead and lands in his hands, but Hayama pulls back as number eight overtakes him, blocking his way to the basket.

"Not letting you through!" The lost look doesn't really disappear from the boy's eyes even as determination infuses his voice, and Hayama laughs.

"Too easy!" Two fingers this time, and just as he had been suspecting, number eight is powerless to stop Hayama's drive. Sad, and disappointing, and Hayama's starting to think that there's no point in playing seriously.

His hand is centimeters away from the basket when the sound of pounding feet registers in his mind and a draft blowing in from his left side barely acts as a warning before a slim hand knocks the ball out of Hayama's grip. _When did Midorima...man he came back fast!_

So maybe this isn't such a let down after all.

"Nice!" Shutoku's point guard cals, catching the ball in his hands. Hayama lands first, but Midorima is the one who catches the ball, rushing back up court and immediately double teamed by Mayu and Reo-nee. "Burdens? What are you talking about?"

Mayu moves forward, and Midorima spins around him, rushing straight for Reo-nee who doesn't look very impressed with either his actions or his words. Hayama's eyes narrow in on the bulky player behind Reo-nee-number five, whose stiffly set face glows with a approval. He holds up a thumb, and Midorima pushes forward.

Hayama swears, scowling as Reo-nee turns to follow Midorima, only to be screened by number five immediately. Eikichi lumbers up, somewhat fast despite the ridiculous cords of muscle that Ryoma never fails to comment upon. "Not gonna let you shoot!" the brute of a teen roars, jumping up with both hands high in the air.

Too late, he realizes that Midorima hadn't jumped.

The Miracle passes the ball to his side, where it's grabbed by number eight, who had somehow disappeared from behind Hayama at some point.

"Someone on this team being a burden?" The contempt dripping from Midorima's voice is almost acidic. "I know nothing of that."

In a shocking display of strength, number eight leaps up and slams the ball into the hoop, the hoarse scream erupting from his throat drowned out by the screaming of the crowd.

"Woah!"

"A dunk!"

"Shutoku isn't going down!"

Hayama throws a hand over his head, grabbing hold of his elbow with his opposite hand while he wanders back to the other side of the court, a pleasant smile sticking to his face despite the annoyance roiling under his skin. Although he _had_ been looking for more of a challenge...

When Akashi gets that look on his face, nothing good ever happens.

"Hey, nice pass." Midorima and number eight pass Hayama, the latter's hand lightly patting the former's shoulder before the blonde speeds up. Hayama's smile only grows stiffer at the sight of a slight upturn of Midorima's lips-so slight, Hayama would've missed it had he not been looking for it.

"There it is!"

"High Projectile Three!"

Midorima shoots the next point, having managed to grab the ball before Mayu and Reo-nee could intercept the pass.

Hayama exhales sharply, biting back an obnoxious remark because he knows for sure that none of his teammates will he appreciate his default attitude. Akashi's already giving him this look, the one that promises definite pain if he even thinks of doing anything except beating Shutoku.

The buzzer sounds, signaling the end of the second quarter. The score is tied at 39-39, and Hayama gnashes his teeth together at the discordant sight.

Never once since he's joined Rakuzan's regular team has he ever seen the opponent bridge the point gap by more than ten points.

"Guess we can't deal with Midorima Shintaro in ordinary ways..." Eikichi grumbles, wiping at his shining face with a sweat towel. He casts a glance towards Shutoku's bench where Midorima stands, calmly drinking from a bottle. "What now? Add a guy?"

Hayama swallows the water he had been swishing around in his mouth, opening his mouth to reply when Akashi does so instead. "No. There's no need. Allotting more people will only have the opposite effect. Even for the Five Kings, it'd be hard to stop Shintaro now. For the second half, we only need one person."

Hayama tips the bottle back, dribbling the last bits of liquid into his mouth. _Challenging or not...looks like Shutoku's not going to be winning this game._

"I'll go up against Shintaro." Akashi's voice is firm, leaving no room for arguments. Then again, they never argue. There's no point, really.

Hayama wipes his mouth against the back of his hand, pushing up off the bench and setting the empty bottle down. His teammates follow his example, although Eikichi grabs a third bottle of water before they all follow Akashi off court and towards the locker room.

Maybe Hayama can get some answers out of Ryoma during intermission.

* * *

It turns out that Hayama isn't the one who finds out what Ryoma's doing. Akashi stares down at his phone with the barest of frowns, an expression that betrays the extreme depth of his current feelings and clues Hayama in as to who Akashi is messaging.

"What'd she say?" he demands, excitedly shoving his head in between Akashi and the screen, going cross-eyed as his vision blurs from trying to focus on something less than a centimeter away from his face. Akashi makes this undignified half snort have tongue click, and he pushes Hayama's face out of the way, turning his phone off and slipping it into the pocket of his jersey jacket. "Come on, Akashi! You looked like someone killed your dog!"

The expression is back, although less severe than before. "I don't have a dog, Kotaro."

Hayama rolls his eyes, plopping down next to Akashi. "Hypothetically speaking. What's Ryoma doing? She's never missed a match, even though she's usually cheering for the opposite team." He pushes his bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout. Ryoma's made the usually monotonous early matches more interesting, if only because of her...creative methods of cheering on Rakuzan's opponents. It's ridiculous, how such a small body manages to store such an ear-rupturing voice.

Akashi smiles slightly at that, glancing around at the small circle of regulars that have formed around him. Even Mayu's there, light novel held loosely by its spine in his right hand. They've all grown quite fond of the fiery spitball of a tennis player Akashi had brought to practice like a stray off the streets, even though she _does_ come as a package deal with the rest of her crazy teammates. "It seems that Ryoma's meeting up with some rather protective friends of her's from middle school."

Hayama latches on to the oddly random detail Akashi had thrown in before realization strikes and he bursts into laughter. "Someone else had her phone?"

Akashi nods, amusement kindling in his eyes. Is it just Hayama's imagination or does Akashi's left eye seem more red and less gold whenever he talks about Ryoma? "An ex-teammate of her's. He had...quite the explosive reaction when he saw that I was texting her."

"What, because you're a guy or because you're Akashi?"

"Both."

Hayama roars in laughter again, leaning back and hooking his feet under the bench running parallel to the one he's sitting on as he clutches his stomach. Reo-nee tries his hardest to hide his own laughter behind a strategically placed hand, while Eikichi, who looks somewhat confused, as he usually does, lets out a few flat bellows, and Mayu's lips twitch upward.

Akashi sighs softly, almost woefully. "He accused me of quite a few depraved activities, Kotaro. It wounds me so, to think that a complete stranger holds such a negative view of who I am and what I do."

"You probably gave him just cause," Mayu responds, voice soft and full of repressed laughter. "I'm sure that Echizen has been saying many things about you to her circles."

"Then it isn't so much my fault than it is Ryoma's," Akashi replies, raising a slight eyebrow.

"Smart move," Mayu snorts, fingering the battered cover of the book in his hands, "Blame the girl who can hit a serve at over a hundred and ten kilometers per hour."

Hayama whistles, leaning further back and lacing his fingers behind his head. "Huh. Maybe I should start playing tennis."

"You wouldn't survive for more than a minute," Eikichi rumbles, and Hayama frowns at him. Before he can shoot back a snarky reply, Akashi abruptly stands up. All activity in the room halts as his heterochromatic gaze sweeps the area, left eye glowing a brighter gold than before. It can't be just Hayama's imagination, right?

"It's time to win."

* * *

Hayama's a firm believer in coincidences, so when he steps out of the corridors and finds Akashi in a stand off against a very familiar-looking red-haired teen wearing a shirt with the characters "Seirin" in the corner, he can safely call it a real nitch of a coincidence-especially when Akashi addresses someone who isn't even there.

"Hello. It's been a while since the opening ceremonies, Tetsuya."

Hayama's eyes almost pop out of his head, and he just barely manages to keep himself from screaming when his eyes pass over a spot for the second time and a girl he hadn't seen before is standing there, all blank blue eyes and pale skin. Kuroko Tetsuya-he had heard many things about the girl who played on Teiko's all-boy's basketball team. One thing straight from Akashi's mouth has him glancing over his shoulder at Mayu, whose equally as blank gaze is trained on Kuroko.

"It has been," Kuroko responds clearly, cleanly. She doesn't look at al intimidated by Akashi's personal greeting, and Hayama's respect for the girl goes up several notches.

Akashi makes a gesture behind his back for them to keep moving, and Hayama does somewhat reluctantly, dragging his feet so that he can continue to listen in on the confrontation. He catches sight of Midorima and Kise Ryouta further up ahead, but his attention is immediately recaptured when the enormous red-head steps in between Kuroko and Akashi, declaring in an almost threatening tone, "Yo, Akashi Seijūrō. You can't have forgotten about me. I don't know what you were planning to do with those scissors back then, but...Kise and you...I'll kick both your asses."

Scratch "almost." It _is_ threatening. Hamaya stops, ignoring Reo-nee's frantic hand motions to keep moving, turning to watch the three of them. He's never met anyone who so outrightly talks back to Akashi's face. He's half terrified, half awed.

"Of course I remember you, Kagami Taiga." Akashi's voice is soft and mellow again, the same soft and mellow that precedes a scissor aimed at the throat. "I'll only give you one warning." His eyes widen slightly, and even from this distance, Hayama swears that he can see Kagami's reflection in Akashi's slitted pupils. "Only those subservient to me are allowed to speak without changing their line of sight. I don't allow anyone acting against me to look down on me."

In one smooth move, Akashi's hand drops onto Kagami's shoulders. Without seeming to exert any effort at all, Akashi lightly pushes down. Kagami's knees buckle, and he falls, dropping onto his ass and staring wide-eyed up at Akashi's, whose face is highlighted by shadow and light. He raises his chin slightly, staring down his nose at Kagami. "Lower your head."

Kagami balks, tanned face paling. For a moment, it looks like he's about to intrinsically obey Akashi's orders when a sharp, "Seijūrō!" sounds from behind him.

Kagami's head whips backwards, so that he's looking up at Kuroko instead of Akashi. Her gaze isn't focused on her teammate-rather, she stares firmly at Akashi, lips pursed in a tight line. "You do not _ever_ talk to my teammates that way. You do not touch them without their permission. You do not do anything to harm them or so help me I will never forgive you. Do you understand me?"

Hayama gapes-first at the sight of this tiny slip of a girl practically _ordering_ Akashi fucking Seijūrō around, and second at the fact that Akashi isn't _doing_ anything in return. He merely stares back at her, face an unreadable mask of deception. Kagami looks like he's about to break his neck, with the amount of times he glances back and forth between the two Miracles penning him in.

Who the hell is this Kuroko? Is she... _his girlfriend?_

It's an absolutely ridiculous and unfounded thing to think, but right now, it's the only explanation Hayama can come up with as to why Kuroko Tetsuya's not currently on the ground with her teammate.

"If you're going to face me, you should be prepared." Akashi raises his chin, eyes glinting in the fluorescent lighting. "I was the one who taught you this style. Sooner or later, you'll come to realize that."

What must be the equivalent of a mutinous look passes over Kuroko's face, if the way Kagami flinches and cowers back into the ground indicates anything. "You do not own me," she whispers, voice sharp and clipped. "This has gone on for long enough, Seijūrō. I will not take this without a fight."

Clasping Kagami's wrist, she helps pull him up and turns her back on Akashi, walking back towards her teammates. She calls a few departing words over her shoulder, refusing to meet the inscrutable gaze of Rakuzan's captain. "I'll show you that basketball is more than winning. Your father is wrong. _You_ are wrong."

The two enter the folds of Seiirn, and the team moves as one towards their court, almost every single member looking back at least once except for Kuroko, who steadfastly keeps her head forward.

"Kotaro."

Hayama starts, whirling back around to face Akashi. The first year captain stares at him for a moment before striding forward, brushing past him without a word. Hayama slowly turns back around, looking from the retreating backs of Seirin and Akashi.

_What the hell is going on?_

* * *

"The second half has started!"

Shutoku starts with the ball, the referee handing it to number five. He throws it in to number eight, who immediately passes to Midorima. Akashi trades marks with Reo-nee, coming smoothly up in front of Midorima.

The two Miracles stand in place for several seconds that seem to stretch for eternity when Midorima suddenly jumps, arms coming up, without attempting to fake or pass. Before his feet can even leave the ground, Akashi's arm flashes forward, striking the ball out of Midorima's grip and catching hold of it before it bounces on the floor behind Midorima.

Akashi dashes down court before getting cut off by Shutoku's point guard, who snarls, "You won't get by!"

"Get by?" Akashi's soft and mellow voice rings out in the otherwise silent court. It's almost as if everyone's holding their breaths. Hayama's chest feels surprisingly tight. "No need for that. You're going to move aside." Akashi moves to the side, and Takao's feet turn to follow. It's almost like watching a slow motion horror film as Akashi instantaneously cuts back, bouncing the ball in between his legs, and the point guard's ankles make an audible cracking sound. He falls back, hands flailing out to brace against the ground. "I don't allow anyone acting against me to look down on me." Calmly, he raises his arms and shoots. "Lower your head."

The ball swoops in a perfect arc directly into the hoop.

Even after seeing Akashi Seijūrō's Emperor Eye almost one year ago when the red-haired runt of a basketball player had showed up at tryouts and absolutely _dominated_ Hayama, Reo-nee, and Eikichi, they'll never be used to it.

The rest of the third quarter passes in the same fashion. All Hayma does is guard number eight-boring and mundane, but he'd rather do this menial job than get in Akashi's way. It's almost as if, with every usage of his Eye, Akashi descends further into this endless pit shrouded in darkness and mystery. Hayama doesn't like it, but there's nothing he can do.

A minute and a half into the fourth quarter, the score is 49-63 in Rakuzan's favor.

Akashi doesn't let up for a second, matching Midorima's every move with one of his own, pushing back even when Midorima isn't pushing at all. He still looks as unaffected as ever, while Shutoku is drenched in sweat. Out of the corners of his eyes, Hayama catches number five silently running up to the edge of Akashi's range of vision, setting up a screen. Midorima breaks around number five, and Alashi spins around the screen, easily catching up with Midorima.

The ball is passed to Midorima, but Akashi is holding him back, keeping him o his toes. There's no way that he'll be able to get into shooting position.

Shutoku's point guard runs up, calling a loud, "Hey!" Hayama's eyes narrow, mind moving a kilometer a minute. There's no way that Midorima would do something so obvious...not with Akashi right in front of him...but still.

In split seconds, Midorima feints a pass to the shooting guard, pulling his arms back in in a desperate attempt when Akashi's arm shoots out again with the accuracy of a laser gun, striking the ball out of Midorima's grip. He catche gold out it, heading back to the basket.

Two Shutoku players throw themselves in front of Akashi, teeth gritted together in determination and desperation-a mix that Hayama has seen many times during his basketball career. "Not letting you by!"

"I'll have you stand aside."

"We'd never say, 'Sure, go ahead!'" number five snarls, arms out and ready.

"Don't get too cocky, you first year child!" number eight snaps, shifting on his feet.

Akashi manipulates the ball in between his hands, shifting constantly-right, left, right, left-until the two players' ankles crack and they fall to the ground before Akashi. "No. My orders are absolute." He lifts the basketball over number five's head, its bounce barely missing the Shutoku player's fingers.

He bounces forward, leaping up in a direct path for the basket. Shutoku's captain jumps up, arms raised in order to block. The height difference between them is obvious-there's no way that Akashi will be able to make the shot. He brings the ball around his back, holding it with his right hand at his waist. Shutoku's captain reaches down with his right hand to stop the pass when Akashi brings his other arm back, slamming his elbow into the ball and shooting it to the opposite side of where Shutoku's captain had predicted he would.

"Nice pass!" Eikichi roars, grabbing hold of the ball and jumping up, slamming the ball into the basket. "All right!"

That's Akashi. Crazy, unpredictable, stupidly smart. That's a pass that Hayama doubts even Kuroko would attempt to pull off-and _she's_ the pass specialist. Fleetingly, he wonders whether Kuroko is watching this-whether she regrets the words she spoke, and whether she thinks that she can beat Rakuzan.

Because she can't. And it's not just because of Akashi.

Reo-nee easily tips the ball in Shutoku's point guard's hands out, a slightly irritated look on his feminine face. "You know, it's a bit rude that you forgot about the rest of us."

Eikichi catches the ball from his position next to the basket, throwing it to Akashi, who's moving to the opposite side of the court. Midorima cuts in from the side, full on snarling, "Akashi!"

"Shintaro, you _a_ _re_ strong. But you will lose. Who do you think had the Generation of Miracles subservient?" This time, it happens so fast that Hayama can't even see what happened. Between one second and the next, one blink and the next, Akashi is walking past Midorima, who lays on the ground, angry despair painted across his face. "Even for you guys, it's impossible to stand up against me." Akashi lightly drops a lay up shout into the basket with a mocking ease.

Four minutes into the fourth quarter and the score is 51-71 in Rakuzan's favor-a twenty point lead.

Hayama can only watch in amusement as the cheers from Shutoku's section, ironically, grow louder-screams of encouragements ranging from "you guys have this!" to "finish them off!" to "you mess this up and we'll cook you for dinner!" So he's a bit annoyed, too, but even he can respect determination and perseverance when he sees it.

"Midorima! Takao! We still have time! Don't give up till the end!" Shutoku's captain is the loudest of them all, surprising for a seemingly taciturn teen. "Start with one shot." He throws the ball to the point guard-Takao, apparently-who grabs hold of it, eyes following his captain. "Let's play to win!"

Hayama stretches, fingers reaching up to the ceilings. _Ahhh_ , so _annoying_ , these people. Don't they know when to give up? He tilts his head back, watching as Midorima pushes himself up, glasses catching the glint of the lights and hiding his green eyes from view. "Let's go, Takao!"

The boy laughs, bouncing the ball. "Sure thing!"

Hayama sighs, dropping his arms to his sides. Doesn't look like Shutoku will be making this easy...

Not like it matters anyways. The look in Akashi's eyes says that they'll be crushed either way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Midorima Shintaro: 6  
> Takao Kazunari: 10  
> Miyaji Kiyoshi: 8  
> Otsubo Taisuke: 4  
> Kimura Shinsuke: 5


	38. Thirty Eighth: Mavericks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Echizen has so many broships...honestly.
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Mayuzumi doesn't have a particular purpose on court right now. Takao's Hawk Eye renders his misdirection useless, and Akashi seems hellbent on keeping Mayuzumi as some sort of trump card. To be fair, he rarely does have a purpose. He hasn't done anything other than guard so far in Winter Cup. It's boring, but it also means that he has more time to observe others.

 _You're a lot like Tetsu._ That's what Echizen told him not long after she first met Kuroko. For the first time since Akashi introduced them, Echizen had singled him out directly, without needing prompting or Akashi's help. It was strange. As if Mayuzumi's flesh had been stripped from his bones, and Echizen's eyes were peering straight into his soul.

Mayuzumi soon realized that Echizen just had that kind of effect. He thinks it's the golden eyes-something he's only ever seen in light novels. He never believed they were possible until she stepped into the first string's practice courts, eyes darting around as if trying to memorize every single thing about the place from the the colors of their jerseys to the way the light glistens off the sleek floorboards.

Even Akashi's eye isn't that deep, burnished color of gold.

They got along surprisingly well. For all of Echizen's social graces, she's a surprisingly taciturn person once you really get to know her. Mayuzumi remembers the first time they had a real interaction.

He had climbed up to his usual rooftop during lunch to eat a snack when he rounded one of the giant plant boxes and found that his usual spot was already occupied. Akashi's girl friend (whether something's actually going on or not really isn't any of Mayuzumi's business) lays on the concrete roof, legs dangling in thin air in between the bottom of the railing and the edge of the rooftop. Her cap had been pulled low over her face, shielding her eyes from the sun, and an unopened can of grape Ponta sat next to her curled hand. Unsure of what to do, he contemplated walking away when she suddenly stirred. In retrospect, he had probably done something to tip off her eerily sharp sense of hearing-maybe a shift of his feet, a crinkling of the wrapper in his hand, a sharp inhale. Whatever it was, she had sat up and glanced back, eyes narrowed and filled with caution.

That look was what had made Mayuzumi stay instead of leaving and escaping the inevitable awkward conversation. Everything he had observed about her pointed towards carefree and naïve-neither of which he had seen within seconds of waking her up. _Danger_ , her eyes seemed to be screaming, and Mayuzumi had wanted to know why.

Eventually she had managed to pinpoint his exact location, and she seemed to have recognize him because her tensed muscles relaxed and she lay back down without another word. They ended up spending lunch together in silence. Just another addition to his quickly growing list of Echizen's mysteries.

They grew closer after that incident-or at least, Mayuzumi thinks that they have. He's always been indifferent, so it wouldn't have mattered to him whether their relationship had changed or hadn't. It did, though, and they started spending more time together. He sees a whole different side to her once they're sitting on the edge of the roof, feet not touching solid ground, wind ruffling hair and book pages. She's not cocky, abrasive, and damnedly magnetic. She's...quiet, thoughtful, and disturbed.

So very disturbed.

Mayuzumi's sure that she knows that he knows that there's something going on with her, something that she hides underneath a tough layer of skin that he doubts many people can penetrate or even know about. He's sure that she's been observing him just as much as he's been observing her. When he brought it up, the first words he's ever spoken directly to her, she gave him this very wry look and then told him that basketball would never be the perfect replacement for writing.

He only realized a couple weeks later that she knew about his old hobby because he had been tracing kanji onto his middle finger over the exact place his writer's bump is.

It became a kind of joke to them, greeting each other with random facts they found out about each other. Sometimes, they were off the mark. He said that Echizen's favorite subject was English when in reality it's physics (who knew?), and she said that his favorite snack was curry bun when in reality it's kusaya (home-made by his older sister, who catches, prepares, and ferments the fish herself). Unsurprisingly, his accuracy is higher than her's, but she does manage to find out a few things that he never would've thought she'd be able to, like how he wears contacts because he never touches his eyes.

And yet, despite the comfortable bond they've forged with each other over the past few weeks, it's clear that Echizen is closest to Akashi out of all the Rakuzan basketball regulars. Whenever they're in the same room, they're never far away from each other, and it's as if they naturally gravitate towards each other. Sometimes he wonders whether they have some sort of psychic link in between them. That would be the only explanation for why they can understand each other so well without need of communication.

For all that Mayuzumi has found out about Echizen, he still understands so little about her.

Mayuzumi's thoughts race each other while he matches his mark and keeps an eye on his surroundings. He's not even sure why he's still on court. Under strict instructions to _not_ use Misdirection, he's probably as useful as a five-year-old right now. Any of the non-regular first-stringers hanging around Rakuzan's bench would give up a leg and an arm just to step on court wearing a regular jersey, and they'd probably score more baskets than what Mayuzumi has since his debut as a regular (which is a measly one from his, you guessed it, debut).

Then again, it could be a message, to Rakuzan and every other team: we can destroy you even with only four active players on court.

Mayuzumi's not really offended. Mostly, he's just annoyed that he's on court doing absolutely nothing instead of doing something more productive with his time, like reading light novels or observing Echizen and her teammates. (He's found out a lot about her teammates, like how this guy called "Jirou-senpai" acts a lot like Hayama when he's not sleeping, and how "Suke-senpai" is a selectively blind version of Akashi.)

There's no doubt that _something's_ going on. Akashi is on Midorima, whose eyes are darting everywhere, searching for something-openings, or opportunities. There's nothing much that he can do, though.

At five and a half minutes left in the game and down by twenty points, there's very little that _anyone_ can do.

Mayuzumi stifles a yawn. And then his face goes slack.

Midorima's legs tense, and he slips into his shooting form, his hands cupping thin air. Akashi's face is as unreadable as ever, but his weight rests backwards, on the balls of his feet, betraying his surprise.

A blur of orange shoots out from the side, and Akashi is too slow to react. The ball slams directly into Midorima's hands as he reaches the peak of his jump, and the moment it makes contact with his fingers, Midorima shoots the ball up, arcing it straight into the basket.

The crowd bursts into cheers.

"He caught it mid-air and shot a three?"

"Is that even possible?"

Mayuzumi is shocked beyond belief. He's never seen something like that-something so foolhardy. What would have they done had Midorima fumbled the ball? If Takao missed the timing of the pass? One mistake and the game would even more solidly be Rakuzan's. Why would they take that chance? Why would they _trust_ in each other enough to take that chance?

 _But it worked out in the end_ , a traitorous little voice whispers in the back of Mayuzumi's mind. He viciously stamps it out, keeping an eye on Akashi, whose face is frozen in a dangerous way.

Hayama misses the next shot, and the self-directed shock and anger is clearly visible on his face even as number eight shouts, "Rebound!"

Mayuzumi watches, slightly dumbfounded, as both Mibuchi and Nebuya are pushed out of the way by Shutoku's captain, who grabs hold of the rebound. As impressive as that show of strength and stamina had been, at least Nebuya should've been able to easily grab that rebound.

In a spontaneous fast break, Shutoku's captain throws the ball down court, where Takao is rushing towards the basket. Mayuzumi, the closest of all his teammates, steps in front of Takao, but can't react fast enough to stop the insanely accurate pass Shutoku's point guard throws to the side, up and directly into Midorima's grip, where the Miracle is already in the air and in shooting position. Akashi can't do anything again as the ball soars above his head and slants directly into the basket.

Rakuzan is falling apart. Hayama's sloppy pass is stolen by number eight, who passes around Mayuzumi's block to Takao. Mibuchi runs into a screen by number five, and Takao once again does that pass to a Midorima already in the air.

"It's in!"

"Three in a row!"

"Shutoku's closing the gap in one fell swoop!"

In less than a minute, the twenty-point gap has been reduced to an eleven-point gap.

A shiver runs down Mayuzumi's spine. It's an instinct of self-preservation that has him slowly turning towards where Akashi stands, back to the hoop the basketball lays under. What had been an icily calm expression before has been broken into the slightest of smirks, usually wide eyes slanted and glowing with fire.

Mayuzumi swears that Akashi's left eye flashes a bright, disturbingly pale gold for just a moment.

Akashi starts with the ball, immediately guarded by Midorima, who switched with Takao. The green-haired Miracle glares at Akashi through the lens of his glasses. "Shutoku isn't dead yet. The showdown is beginning now."

Akashi's chin tilts down, condescension dripping from his words. "More than I had assumed, Shintaro...That's how it should be." Akashi angles forward, and Midorima tenses in anticipation. The captain chuckles slightly as he breathes, "It's futile. Step aside." A deft flick of his hands, and then Midorima's ankles twist. The Shutoku player grunts, falling back onto the ground, and Akashi leisurely strolls forward. "My orders are absolute."

Akashi moves forward, still as calms as ever, and Mayuzumi steps forward as Midorima slowly pushes himself up, teeth gritted, desperation practically radiating off of him. Pathetic, yes.

Effective? Hell yes.

Between on blink and the other, Midorima is in the air, right next to Akashi, his towering height practically dwarfing the captain. "Akashi!"

In the same smooth gracefulness that got Akashi his position as first-year captain, he pulls the ball down, passing it down diagonally to Nebuya, who roars in triumph, jumping up for a dunk.

Except the ball never goes into the basket. Number five slams the ball out of Nebuya's grip, and before any of the Rakuzan players gathered at the net can recover, Takao picks up the rolling ball, rushing down court. Mibuchi cuts in front of him. "Not letting you through here!"

Takao's laughs mockingly as he shoots a pass to his side without ever taking his eyes off of Mibuchi, who jerks back and stares as Midorima shoots the ball.

Mayuzumi's eyes narrow. Akashi isn't even there. Why do such a special shot?

Intimidation. And it looks like it worked.

"Four in a row!"

Four and a half minutes left in the game, and the score is 63-71 in Rakuzan's favor.

"They've got a glimpse of Rakuzan's back now!"

For the next play, Mayuzumi is free, but it doesn't look like Akashi's planning on using him. He has that expression on his face again, the one that says he's got tunnel vision. Echizen's the only one who can talk back to him at this point without having scissors pointed at her neck. Midorima and Takao double team him, equally determined looks on their faces.

Akashi sighs, pulling back. Mayuzumi along with every other player on the court can only stare in shock as he turns around, facing Rakuzan's basket. His tunnel vision focuses only on that basket as he shoots, scoring two points for Shutoku.

_What. The. Hell?_

"Akashi."

"When did I tel you to drop your concentration?" Akashi's voice is sharper than the crack of a whip, colder than an icy tundra wind. He looks almost bored. "The game isn't over yet. Did your nerves relax because we had such a huge lead? All this weakness just because they scored several goals in a row is good proof of that. If the lead was slimmer, we wouldn't have had to make such an unsightly show." His eyes narrow, and Mayuzumi feels frozen to the bone. He's never met someone like this. Someone so...unemotional. In the blink of an eye. A flip of the switch. A push of the button. "If that's so, I'd sooner get rid of that lead altogether. Calm your heads down a bit. If we lose, you can criticize me as much as you want because the reason we lost would be that shot. I'll take full responsibility and immediately quit the team." Mayuzumi's head jerks up as a knee-jerk reflex, and he sorely regrets it when he meets Akashi's cold eyes. The gold flickers with a flame of its own, disturbingly transparent, nothing like Echizen's warm, burnished gold. "Furthermore, as proof of atonement for my sin..." Akashi raises a hand, curls it against his own eye then reaches out, spreading his fingers. His pupils are disturbingly dilated as he announces, "I will gouge out both of my eyeballs, and I will offer them to you."

Mayuzumi can only stare.

 _"Seijūrō?" Echizen lifts her head to glance at Mayuzumi. Her hat sits crookedly on her head, very much in danger of falling off and hitting the ground some thirty feet down. Echizen, despite better judgement (then again, it's not like she_ has _better judgement), is hanging over the edge of the rooftop-except, instead of her feet dangling thirty feet above the ground, her head is. She doesn't look particularly worried, dropping her head back then and closing her feline-like eyes. "Hmm. If I had to describe him, I'd say...he doesn't do things by halves."_

_"What does that mean?"_

_"It's either zero percent or one hundred for him. There's no in between. Akashi_ _Seijūrō is the type of person who will do anything to win."  
_

* * *

"What are you talking about?" Hayama practically shouts, stepping forward and waving his hands. "You don't have to go that far!"

"That's only if we lose." Akashi practically sounds smug, even though his face is as opaque as a brick wall. "We have no issues if we win." He closes his eyes, a slight smile curling his lips. "I'm not worried at all. Because I am confident." His eyes open, and the gold glitters dangerously under the fringe of his brightly colored hair. "With you guys all here, there's no way that we will lose."

 _He'll do it. He'll actually do it_. Anyone who's spent longer than a couple minutes of him knows that he will. Akashi is dead serious. He really would gouge out his eyeballs.

Mayuzumi's never met someone who creeps him out so thoroughly.

The mental break that Rakuzan seemed to have experienced earlier is gone now. They're all working better than they had at the start of the game. Mayuzumi can't seem to shake the cold that has infused itself into his body no matter how much he runs, chasing his mark.

"It's unfortunate, but this game is already over." Akashi stands before Midorima, voice as cold and smooth as ever. "I'll declare it right now. You will no longer be able to even touch the ball."

"What?" Midorima scoffs, but the way his hands tremble and his eyes widen betray his fear. "That's impossible, Akashi. Even with your Emperor Eye, you can't stop us from shooting."

Akashi's lips tilt up, and he mockingly nods his head towards Midorima. "Indeed, it is true that height is a valuable factor in basketball. At first glance, you are impossible to stop. But I'll teach you something. I am the absolute. I can see everything in the future. And it is such a simple task to use it."

Takao starts with the ball. Every Shutoku player is tense, taut as bowstrings tied too tightly. Their caution shows in every shift of their feet, every flick of their eye, every shuddering breath.

Mayuzumi shifts up, silently ghosting past his guard. Takao attempts to duck around Mibuchi, but Mauzumi is there, holding him back. The two of them double-team Takao, matching him step by step and refusing to let him by. Takao chuckles (more of a _sneer_ , really). "I knew you guys would at least go that far. I can't fulfill my job as Shin-chan's partner if I panic with just this! Don't underestimate me!"

How disgustingly sweet.

Takao moves to the left, and both Mayuzumi and Mibuchi shift towards him before they realize that it's a feint. At that point, Takao pulls back, whirling around Mibuchi's open left side and breaking past their guard.

Behind them, Midorima is already in the air, arms held up and ready for the ball.

Takao's pass shoots directly from his hands up to Midorima, and it would've been perfect had Akashi not stopped the ball in its path.

"I thought I already told you..." Akashi's voice is soft and deadly, cool and smooth, a combination of every terrifying thing Mayuzumi can think of. "I am the absolute." Before Midorima can even land, Akashi is on the other side of the court, scoring a smooth layup. He lands, turning around to face Takao and Midorima. "That shot has a flaw. To adjust the pass to Shintaro's left-handed shot, you must pass from the left-hand side. And Shintaro's shooting motion has the same form as usual. In other words,I don't even need to use Emperor Eye to easily figure out the course and timing for the pass. I only use the Eye for an instant. To start moving one step before he passed, but late enough that he couldn't cancel his motion. I had him skirt by the double-team in this direction as well, so I could close the distance between us."

Yet another example of just how fucking arrogant this guy is.

"Incredible," Midorima remarks dryly, a tinge of actual respect and fear in his voice. "To think the groundwork has been laid from the start."

"You were above what I assumed," Akashi concedes, sounding even more patronizing than before, "but you were not above what I imagined. It is the same thing, whether shogi or basketball. I thought I always told you. True groundwork looks into the future without letting the opponent notice."

And there it is. The last blow. Psychological plays-those are what Akashi excel in, and, from what he's heard, so does Kuroko. That's probably the only way he can;t compete with her-he doesn't have a mind fucked up enough for that.

"I'm sorry." Mibuchi's effeminite face is pinched, and he glances at Takao close to his side. "I'm not good with rowdy places. Can you quiet down a bit?"

"Not yet!" Takao bursts out, desperation leaking off of him-and this time, it's purely pathetic. "It's not over yet!" Mibuchi's lips twitch, and he slips into shooting position, jumping up. "Like I'm letting you shoot!" Takao follows Mibuchi into the air.

"Hold it, Takao!" The warning comes too late. Mibuchi's flawless fake reveals him to be standing while Takao is still in the air. He jumps again as Takao begins to fall, and he shoots. Takao's head slams into Mibuchi's chest, and the referee blows the whistle.

Mibuchi smiles at the dawning realization and resulting horror flashing across Takao's face. "I may not look it, but I'm actually pretty greedy!"

The ball rolls around the rim before dropping into the basket.

"All right!" Nebuya roars, raising his hand and bringing it down in what's meant to be a congratulatory back-slap. Mibuchi easily dodges the attempt, crossing his arms and glaring at Nebuya. "Huh?"

"Your slaps hurt. Don't!"

"You should've done that already, Reo-nee," Hayama whines, coming up in front of his teammate.

"I'm telling you, it's not something I can do all the time!" Mibuchi fans a hand in a lady-like fashion.

Mayuzumi sighs internally and, not for the first time, wonders why he let Akashi talk him into joining this team.

Mibuchi makes the free throw shot, and with a little over two minutes left in the game, the score is 65-79 in Rakuzan's favor.

Rakuzan scores the next few times, and Mayuzumi has to admit, Shutoku sure doesn't know how to give up. Annoying, yes. Pathetic, yes. Admirable...yes.

"It's over, Shintaro." Midorima falls back as a result of Akashi's ankle break, and he groans, pushing himself up as Akashi jumps for a shot.

"Akashi!"

"I show you my respect anew, Shintaro...and Shutoku High School. Until the very end, not one of you lost the will to fight. But you still can't reach the ball after all."

Midorima's fingers are a hand's breadth away from the ball as it leaves Akashi's fingertips and sails over head, sinking into the basket.

The buzzer sounds, and Midorima lands on the ground. Despite the fact that the green-haired Miracle is taller than him, Akashi's the one who's looking down as he utters, "Now rest, king of veterans."

* * *

At the end of the game, Midorima approaches Akashi. Mayuzumi stops in the process of packing up, wanting to watch. It takes great courage to face the man who utterly beat you.

Midorima holds out a hand. "It was in fact our loss...but next time, we will make sure to win!"

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what the offer us. A chance at reconciliation. A truce, of sorts. Even a gesture of forgiveness.

That was Midorima's mistake.

"I will give you my thanks, Shintaro. That was the first game in a while that had a bit of thrill. However..." Disdain creeps into his tone. "I apologize that I cannot accept that handshake. If you seek victory, you must become more merciless. Winning is everything. I wish to stay the foe for all of you."

Midorima slowly drops his hand. "I see. You haven't changed, Akashi. From back then. But, we will win next time even then."

Mayuzumi silently pulls his pack up onto his shoulder and follows the rest of his teammates off court.

As they walk back to the locker room, his mind wanders back to Echizen. He thinks, just maybe, Akashi's grateful that she isn't here to watch this match.

If she were, Mayuzumi has a feeling that she wouldn't like what Akashi did.

* * *

_"What was the worst thing that ever happened to you?"_

_Echizen glances towards Mayuzumi. They're sitting in a corner of the library since the rooftop is closed. The administration got an anonymous tip that_ someone _has been sitting in very precarious positions on that particular roof, and the door has been closed ever since. They've been meeting in the library since then."You first."  
_

_Mayuzumi shrugs, turning a page of his light novel. "My parents decided to ship me off to this boarding school."_

_"Hmm." She sips her Ponta, the librarian having long since given up on trying to get her to stop bringing drinks into the library. "Worst thing, huh?"_

_Mayuzumi glances up from the book in his hands, finding himself struck deep inside his soul at the sight of Echizen's lips pulling down, her golden eyes staring unseeingly down at the table. He's not sure what to do. Maybe that question was unfair. They've had an unspoken policy of the truth and nothing but the truth when it comes to this game. For him, that question meant nothing, but for Echizen..._

_He had known that her sense of honor meant that she would take it seriously._

_"You don't have to if you don't want to-"_

_"I got my first bruise," Echizen interrupts Mayuzumi brusquely, pushing her chair back and stalking out. Mayuzumi can only stare after her and wonder._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Midorima Shintaro: 6  
> Takao Kazunari: 10  
> Miyaji Kiyoshi: 8  
> Otsubo Taisuke: 4  
> Kimura Shinsuke: 5


	39. Thirty Ninth: Connections

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

"So unfair!"

Echizen's smirk only widens at Akaya's whine-not that she's in any better condition than him. She wipes at the sweat dripping from her forehead, regretting not having worn her cap when she went to watch Seirin's match against the team with the purple-haired giant. Suke-senpai doesn't have any hats-something that Echizen can't understand. He has longer hair than her (or at least, he used to. She needs a haircut), and he doesn't have any hairbands either. How does he play without something keeping all that hair away from his eyes.

That's when Echizen remembers that his eyes are never open in the first place, and therefore, Suke-senpai can have Rapunzel hair and still play as normally as ever.

Her breath scrapes at the walls of her throat as she slowly makes her way towards the net on wobbly legs. It's to be expected, since she hasn't been practicing as much as she usually does, but that doesn't stop the arrogant pride from welling inside of her when she sees the score post at 7-5 solidly in her favor. They had gotten dangerously close to a tiebreaker, but Echizen's yet-to-be-beaten Cyclone Smash had served her well. Akaya's much slower in making his way there, practically dragging himself by his hands, the red pigment of his skin bleeding out and replaced by his regular, slightly tanned skin tone. Angel Mode is as terrifying as she remembers, but she's mainly just glad that his eyes had stayed the brilliant emerald they are. She clasps Akaya's hand once he pulls himself up, firmly shaking it once, then twice. "Mada mada dane."

Akaya gives her the stink-eye. "I almost beat your ass. You're only saying that 'cause you want to pick on me."

Echizen raises an eyebrow. "Wow. Looks like you've gotten smarter since I last saw you."

"What the hell does that mean?"

Echizen only laughs, pulling the tennis racket up behind her back and grabbing hold of its head with her right hand. She's still laughing when she walks off court, ceding it to four new and unfamiliar regulars from Rikkai and Seigaku. They shoot her strange looks, hopefully more due to her laughter than her reputation.

She's already been approached by at least five random players in various states of shyness asking for autographs. She had signed their tennis balls with no small amount of awkwardness. She doubts that she'll ever get used to it, this fame that she's been dealing with since placing Top Ten in the US Open. It'll only get worse once she goes for the Grand Slam.

Hopefully, that won't happen for a long time.

Take-senpai is there when she climbs up to the bench she had been using, sports drink in one hand, phone in the other. He's furiously texting with a single thumb, somehow managing not to spill anything out of his opened bottle. He's grinning down at his phone and a faint blush is present high on his cheeks. Echizen drops down next to him, leaning over and managing to catch sight of who he's texting before he manages to turn his phone off. "Ooooooh," she drawls in an annoyingly knowing tone, smirking up at Take-senpai, whose cheeks are flushed an even darker red than before. "It's _An_."

Take-senpai clears his throat, turning his face away from Echizen. "So what?"

She rolls her eyes, patting the bench around her for a can of Ponta before realizing that she finished it long before she started playing Akaya. Rummaging through her tennis bag for some spare change, she continues to wheedle for the sake of wheedling, " _So_ , when did you guys start dating? I'm a bit hurt that you didn't tell me, Take-senpai. I thought we were _friends_."

It's good-natured ribbing, but Take-senpai's lips turn downward, and even though Echizen can only see a quarter of his profile, she sees the way his shoulder drop and he practically wilts. She pauses in her search for money, concern bubbling up inside of her. "Hey, what's-"

"An isn't my girlfriend," he mumbles, shoving his phone into his jacket pocket. "Kamio is."

Echizen barely manages to hide a wince, hand withdrawing from her bag and automatically laying over Take-senpai's. "Oh...I'm sorry."

He shakes his head, turning back to glance at her. "Nah, don't apologize. It's done, I'm over it."

Echizen pulls back but otherwise doesn't move. "Why didn't you tell me?"

He shoots her a wry look. "And what would you have done? Hopped on a train back to Tokyo and give her a piece of your mind for dating the person she actually likes? An's your friend, Ryoma. I'm not about to let something as trivial as this get in the way of that."

"Trivial?" Echizen frowns at him, lightly tapping on the handle of her racket. "You're not 'trivial,' Take-senpai. And besides, I'm not mad that An's dating Kamio. I knew she liked him from the beginning anyways."

" _What_?"

"I would've hopped on the first train to visit _you_ , Take-senpai," Echizen plows right through his indignant protest, "because I know how much you care about her."

" _Cared_ ," he grumbles stubbornly, sulking on his side of the bench.

Echizen rolls her eyes, bumping his shoulder with her own. "Fine, _cared_. It was wrong of An to string you along the way she did, and it was wrong of me to look the other way." Echizen clasps her hands, staring down at her interlocked fingers. She doesn't really like talking about this stuff. Romance and _feelings_ -they aren't her cup of tea. She'd never been a big believer of love, even before the incident. Her parents' marriage, Ryoga's consecutively worse break ups as she grew up, and the constant exposure due to seventy five percent of the family having successful tennis careers-she never had a good model to look up to when it came to loving relationships. But that doesn't mean she can't see the way An looks at Kamio, or how Take-senpai looks at An, or how Eiji-senpai and Chiro-senpai look at each other. That doesn't mean that she can ignore these things the way she ignored how An was hurting Take-senpai. "I'm sorry. And I won't take back this apology. It was my fault that you were hurt. I should've told you."

Take-senpai sighs, staring at Echizen with this soft look in his violet eyes, and for a moment, they aren't ex-teammates, attending schools in two different cities, separated by distance and an inability to pick up a phone and _call_. For a moment, she's Echizen Ryoma, Seigaku's southpaw rookie freshman regular with an ego too big for her head, and he's Momoshiro Takeshi, Mom-senpai, or Momo-chan-senpai, Seigaku's resident idiot trickster with a heart too big for his body. Nothing has changed. Nothing is different. _She misses him so much._ "Yeah. You should've. But I'm sure that you didn't for the same reason I didn't tell you about An and Kamio getting together. And honestly, I really am over An. She's happy with Kamio, and..." Take-senpai's bronzed cheeks turn red again. "Well, I think I've someone else."

Echizen regrets this entire conversation.

"You're not even going to ask who she is?"

"Nope, not interested," Echizen calls over her shoulder as she clutches her tennis bag close to her back and hurries away towards the vending machines as fast as possible. She doesn't want to get caught up in whatever love life this fool manages to get himself. "Tell Suke-senpai I'm going to get Ponta."

Echizen is inserting the correct amount of yen into the machine when her phone buzzes inside of her bag. She rummages one-handed for it, careful of the way her rackets are clanking together, while simultaneously pressing the buttons for a can of grape Ponta. She's starting to think it's an addiction. She manages to pull it out just as the can topples onto the floor of the machine, and she reaches into the flap, pressing the answer button without looking at the caller ID. "Hello?"

"Hey, Chibi-chan."

Echizen drops her can on the ground. The side dents but she doesn't care, pulling her phone back and hitting the end call button. She stares at her lock screen, which has a picture of Karupin curling up contentedly on top of her pillow, basking in a ray of sunlight. A shaky breath escapes her, and she rubs a hand down her face, glancing around cautiously to make sure that no one saw her reaction. Fortunately, nobody in the area seems to have been paying her any attention. Bending down and quickly grabbing her can, she hikes her tennis bag further up her shoulder and quickly heads in the opposite direction of the tennis courts, looking for a quiet place where no one will bother her. Her phone starts vibrating a minute later, and she doesn't answer, glancing around the sports park. Somewhere private, away from prying eyes and listening ears.

_There._

Tightening her grip on her bag, she speeds up, cutting across strips of lawn before ducking behind a cluster of trees. They're small, but if she sits down, the foliage is dense enough to hide her. Lowering herself onto the dirt, she leans her bag against the trunk of the tree. Just as she's settled, the phone buzzes again. A picture of Ryoga replaces Karupin, older than his old contact photo, with a tennis racket in his hand instead of an orange. She hadn't wanted to change the picture, but he had stolen her phone from her during the U-17 camp and replaced the picture. She hadn't even been able to change it back because he deleted all pictures of him as a little kid-which was just the one. She gave him an earful for that one. Taking a deep breath, she counts slowly to five before answering. "Hello?"

"Damn it, Ryoma, can't you just answer your phone like a normal person?"

Despite her tense nerves, she unconsciously relaxes at the sound of his voice. He's still as safe as he had been years ago, before his aunt had won custody and taken him away. Before he stormed back into her life as the Demigod of Tennis and a whole load of baggage was dumped into her lap. Before he stormed back out of her life and never bothered to come back for his own baggage-and never tried to help with her own, either. It's hard to hate someone she loves so much. Still as safe, though, and his voice relaxes her more than the strongest medicines. "I was surprised."

"So you hung up on me and conveniently forgot to answer your phone?"

"Correct."

An exasperated sigh sounds in her ear, and she grins, feeling the last of the tension leaking out of her shoulders. "You're lucky I love you, you know."

"I know."

"You little shit." The fondness in Ryoga's voice is like his large hand reaching out to ruffly her hair the way he knows she hates it, and she's never felt more like crying since yesterday night than right here, right now.

"I know." Her voice comes out choked, and of course, he picks up on it immediately.

"Ryoma? Are you okay?"

She smiles, tremulous and nebulous, burying her head in between her knees. Her voice comes out muffled, but she knows that he'll understand. He always does, even though sometimes, he chooses to ignore her anyways. "I'm fine. Really."

He growls on the other end of the line, and if Echizen's a panther, graceful and lazy, then Ryoga's a lion, loud and ferocious. "If something happened to you-"

"Nothing happened," Echizen interrupts him, knowing that he doesn't want to really say it, doesn't want to really believe it. Knows that he won't keep pushing because it's easier to pretend that nothing's going on. It's okay. _She's the same exact way._ "Really. I just met up with some old friends, and I missed them a lot."

Weak and flimsy, but as always, Ryoga takes it and doesn't say anything more on the matter. It kind of hurts, but she's mostly just relieved because if he really did push, she would give way. She's weak like that, and all that hurt and betrayal has been piling up for a long, long time. Not wanting the silence to grow any longer and thicker, she throws out an obvious attempt at changing the subject. "How's your girlfriend? Umm. Giselle? The French model?"

"Katrina, and we broke up a week ago," Ryoga answers, not seeming to mind the very obvious redirection.

"What happened this time?" If there's one thing that's stable about Ryoga's love life, it's the ridiculous ways he gets dumps or does the dumping.

"Nothing as bad as last time, actually. Apparently, she's lesbian and was dating me to get her parents off her back. She finally came out to them though and is now pursuing every walking vagina."

Echizen bursts into laughter, lifting her head and leaning back, staring up through the leaves at the clear blue sky. Distantly, she wonders whether the rest of them have missed her yet, but Ryoga's still talking, dry amusement now tinging his voice. "Yeah, shocking, right? I swear some magazine rated me among Top Three Tennis Players That Could Make Gay Women Straight."

"That was a Playboy magazine, Ryoga," Echizen remarks dryly, "and dad was ranked second."

"Eugh, gross," Ryoga groans, a thumping sound transmitting through the line. "I did _not_ need to see dad in his underwear."

Echizen laughs again. "You have to admit, though, I can see why mom was attracted to him. He sure was something back then, huh?"

"That's even worse," Ryoga whines, fake gagging into the receiver. "You're thirteen-year-old, Ryoma, there's no plausible reason for you to know this type of stuff."

"You're the one who started it," Ryoma replies, popping the tab of her Ponta and taking a sip. "Besides, you spend two years on an all-boys tennis team. There's a _lot_ of talk about balls and sticks on court, and at least half of them are straight."

"The guys or the sticks?"

"Who's the gross one here?" Echizen exclaims, practically choking on her drink. "Ugh. Their sex lives do _not_ include me, Ryoga."

"I would hope not. If that's the case, I have a visit to pay Rakuzan."

Echizen grins, straightening her legs out. "Are you going to visit? I've been wanting to see you since U-17."

"Me too, Ryoma, me too. I really missed you. You've improved so much since then...I'll be seeing you at the Grand Slam tournaments next year, though, right?"

She can barely contain the disappointment welling up inside of her at his response. "So you're not visiting then?"

"I'm sorry." Genuine contriteness colors his tone, and Ryoma sighs internally, closing her eyes against the vivid colors of the tree and the sky. "But you know how busy I am. Besides, Rinko..."

He trails off, but both of them can easily finish the sentence. _Rinko needs me._ She doesn't want _her._ Doesn't want Echizen, her blood daughter, living across the Pacific Ocean with an alcoholic of a father and a house that looks like it belongs in a horror movie. No, Echizen's mom needs _Ryoga._ "No, it's fine. I get it. Tell mom I love her, and that I miss her."

It leaves a bitter taste in her mouth.

"I will, Chibi-chan." Ryoga sounds sympathetic, and Echizen suddenly wants to scream at him. Of course, _he's_ the one who doesn't have to deal with all this shit. _He's_ got a stable tennis career, _he's_ not obligated to the family, _he_ can just walk away, at any time, to anywhere. What does Echizen get? A father who works her into the dust and a mother who hasn't tried to call her once since divorcing with her husband two years ago, who hasn't even bothered to answer any of Echizen's phone calls or voice mails or e-mails. Short of physically visiting her mother, Echizen would never be able to connect with her ever again.

And Ryoga? He's out there, cavorting and partying around, playing tennis the way he wants to and having fun. Being the successful son her father had always wanted. Constant comparisons to a brother she loves and hates so, so much.

But most of all, she hates herself for thinking of him in this way.

"Thank you, Ryoga."

"I'll see you at the Australian Open, then."

"Maybe."

"Goodbye, Ryoma."

"Bye."

* * *

"Where were you?"

As expected, Suke-senpai immediately bombards her with questions when she finally reappears at the tennis courts. It looks like the four new players have finished their game, and Akaya is playing a singles match against Sada-senpai. She's vaguely interested in it, if only because at one all, Akaya's already in Angel Mode and Sada-senpai is executing some updated version of his Waterfall Serve every change he has. She glances away from the two tennis players and drops back onto her bench, which has been vacated of Take-senpai. She doesn't see him around. Maybe he went to grab a drink. "I was getting a Ponta." She lifts her drink to prove the point, even though it's almost empty by now.

"For thirty minutes? I know that you're directionally challenged, but even you couldn't have possibly gotten lost during the straight line from here to the vending machines." Suke-senpai's voice is more vicious than usual, his eyes open with blue piercing out from beneath his lids.

Echizen frowns slightly, setting her can down on the bench. "I had to make a call. It's really none of your business, Suke-senpai."

His eyes narrow, and for a moment she thinks that he's going to argue, and she's really too tired to deal with him and his, while well-meaning, also extremely annoying, overbearing, and honestly _insulting_ tendencies. But then he sighs, sitting down beside her, making sure that there's a sliver of space in between him and her. "You're right. I'm just...worried."

"When are you not?" she mumbles, but shifts slightly towards him, lightly nudging him. "I know I worried you a lot last night, and I'm extremely grateful for all that you've done for me. But I need space, and privacy, and time. Right now, you're not giving me any of those things."

"Understood." He smiles down at her slightly. "You want to play a match once they're finished?"

"Hell yeah. I'm going to beat your ass so far into the court, nobody'll even be able to pull you back out again."

Suke-senpai raises an eyebrow. "Mighty words from the girl who almost got beaten by Kirihara Akaya."

"He's strong, okay?" Echizen jabs him in the side, pulling out a racket and downing the last of her Ponta. "Not all of us resort to physically abusing our opponents to win a match."

"Low blow," Suke-senpai teases, standing up and following her down the steps. "For him, anyways."

"You're just as bad as him," Echizen grumbles. "You and Mura-senpai sure like your mind tricks."

"Better than destroying a burgeoning tennis player's career before it even starts."

"Physical injuries can heal." Echizen's eyes slant towards Suke-senpai, and she knows that his eyes flash towards her arms, which are covered by her customary windbreaker. "Mental injuries can't."

He doesn't say anything else from that point on.


	40. Fortieth: Rivals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 40 chapters! I'm so freaking excited! To celebrate, here's a full tennis match instead of a basketball match.
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Kirihara Akaya does _not_ have a crush on Echizen Ryoma.

Sure, maybe he's bought every single sports magazine that mentions her, and maybe he's been dreaming about how he's going to utterly destroy her in a match since U-17, and maybe he does sport a healthy admiration for the way her short emerald-tinted hair frames her gloriously bronzed and sharp-angled face, and maybe he wants to see more of her strikingly gold eyes, and maybe he hounds her like a dog for rematch after rematch every time he visits Yukimura-senpai, Sanada-senpai, and Yanagi-senpai at Rakuzan-

And while it sounds like he has a _major_ crush on Echizen Ryoma, Kirihara is absolutely adamant that he, in fact, does _not_ have a crush on her.

So when his eyes follow Ryoma wherever she goes, it's in an entirely platonic way. He's a bit sad that he doesn't really have a plausible reason to ask her for another rematch, even though she did end up beating him. He can't really say with pride that they almost went into tiebreak. It looks like she hasn't been practicing as much as she used to. Or somehow, she's gotten even worse. Of course, that possibility is entirely wrong and ridiculous, so Kirihara ignores it to the best of his ability.

As of right now, Ryoma and Fuji Syuusuke are playing a match. They've gathered a really big and loud crowd, the loudest being Seigaku's captain, Momoshiro, who has grown in some ways and hasn't in others.

"You got this, Ryoma!" Momoshiro shouts at the top of his lungs, throwing a fist in the air. Seigaku's vice captain, Kaidoh, ducks the punch, pinched face scrunching up even more as he glares at Momoshiro, who doesn't seem to have noticed the near miss.

Kirihara wipes his face free of sweat with a towel, hanging it around his neck after ruffling his hair a good few times. Ryoma looks completely unaffected while Kirihara feels like he was just dumped in a pool of leftover oil from all of his mother's frying pans. Okay, maybe that's not exactly true. He can definitely see the beads of sweat running down the back of Ryoma's neck, and the slight trembling of her arms and legs. Fuji's shots are not joke. As much as Ryoma has grown and developed (muscle, Kirihara _swears_ that that's all he's paying attention to), Fuji is still two years older than her and ridiculously strong for a boy with such frail-looking arms.

They've both been keeping their serves, with the score staying at 2-2, 15 all for a very long time. It looks more like they're rallying than anything else, and Momoshiro shouts, "Stop playing around, you too! There are other people who want to play!"

Ryoma smirks, ponytail whipping around to slap her cheek as she sends a ball spinning deep into Fuji's side of the court, hitting the baseline with pinpoint accuracy. He barely manages to reach in time, and Ryoma's already at the net, leveling an angled drop shot that no one, not even Fuji, is able to reach in time.

"30-15," Ryoma calls out smugly, lifting the net and slipping her racket under the ball, pulling it back to her side. Fuji merely smiles, readjusting his grip on his racket before heading to the ad side.

Ryoma sets her feet, and Kirihara leans forward, the towel almost falling off his shoulders when she bends herself impossibly backwards, head almost brushing her ankles. The smirk doesn't waver even though her back has to be in serious pain. Her arm shoots straight upward, carving out a path for the ball to follow as she releases it above her head. It flies directly up, following a stick straight line as she snaps herself up, springing from practically bending herself in half backwards to bending herself in half forward, her racket slicing up then down, brushing sideways in a wicked cut. The ball is propelled forwards, and Kirihara's eyes can't make it the direction of the spin with how ridiculously fast the ball is. It streaks past the net, hitting the ground and curving sharply to the right. Fuji doesn't balk in the face of such a foreign serve, though his eyes do flash open, piercing blue chilling Kirihara to the bone even though his gaze isn't directed at Rikkai's captain. At an angle almost parallel to the ground, the ball flies to the right, heading out. Fuji catches up with the ball, puling his racket back and swinging forward.

For a moment, it looks as if Fuji's racket head is about to connect with the ball when it suddenly veers sharply forward, angling diagonally towards the net. Fuji stumbles when his racket connects with nothing, and he doesn't recover in time. The ball hits the net, softly bouncing onto the ground and rolling back to his feet.

Fuji lightly taps his racket against the ball, bouncing it off the ground and up into his hand. His eyes are closed again as he smiles in Ryoma's direction. Ryoma, who's still sporting that haughty expression, braces her hands against her back, arching forward and stretching. "Impressive, Ryo-chan. I'll assume that this was inspired by Genichirou?"

Ryoma's smirk widens as she holds up a hand to catcht the ball Fuji tosses her. "Black Aura in serve form. And adjusted for me, of course. I don't have that kind of strength."

"I was wondering how you got it to change direction without the second swing." The two continue their conversation even as they turn their backs on each other, heading towards their respective positions. "I would've been able to predict the course of the ball had you made a second swing."

"Exactly." Echizen rolls her eyes as she holds her racket up in front of her, ball resting against the face of the racket. "40-15."

This time, she serves a regular Twist Serve, and Fuji smoothly returns it. They fall into a steady rally once more, and the tightness in Kirihara's chest loosens as he replays that ridiculous serve in his mind again.

He remembers Sanada-senpai's Black Aura from U-17. It had been terrifying in a way completely different from Kirihara's Devil Mode. While Devil Mode is blood-boiling and burning hot, Black Aura creates a freezing tundra where Sanada-senpai stands. When Kirihara had first watched it, he had been frozen in his spot, unable to move or even breathe for fear of death.

A bit dramatic, maybe, but Sanada-senpai's always been able to inspire that sort of reaction, Black Aura or not.

Of course Ryoma would be able to twist another player's technique into her own without even having seen it.

Fuji wins that point, and Ryoma serves one last time. This is her new serve, the one that makes Kirihara's back ache in sympathy. This time, though, the ball hits the ground near the service line and accelerates forward, the spin propelling it. Fuji's once again thrown off-balance when the ball changes direction mid-air, curving sharply to the right and double-bouncing before he can chase after again.

During their switch, Ryoma wrestles the tennis ball out of its spot at two, slipping it up by one so the score post now reads 3-2 in Ryoma's favor. At this rate, both of them will continue to keep their serve and they'll battle it out in a long, extremely prolonged tiebreaker that won't stop once one of them reaches ten.

Kirihara heads down to join the crowd, leaving his racket behind on the bench. He doesn't want to play while this once-in-a-lifetime match is going on, and besides, the sun will be setting in a few hours. There are no electrical lights in the street courts, so they'll have to pack up once Ryoma and Fuji are done. He slips to the front, near Yagyuu-senpai, who's murmuring something to Niou-senpai. He's missed them, he really has. "What's that crazy spin, huh?"

Yagyuu-senpai turns towards Kirihara, reaching up and adjusting the position of his glasses on his nose. "Hello, Kirihara-kun. As of right now, I cannot understand the technique of this quite unique serve. The spin changes spontaneously, and the only peculiar thing about Echizen-chan's set up is the way she bends excessively. Maybe if she were to execute this serve a few more times, I will be able to understand more."

Kirihara blinks in the face of Yagyuu-senpai's ridiculously formal way of talking before nodding dumbly. "Umm...okay."

Niou-senpai snickers, lightly flicking his rattail in Kirihara's direction. "Don't bother trying to explain anything to the idiot, Hiro. He understands tennis theory as much as he understands English."

Kiriharai squawks instinctively, glaring at Niou-senpai, "Hey! I've gotten better! I got a seventy on my last test!"

Niou-senpai snorts, rolling his eyes. "What an improvement."

"Hush, you two," Yagyuu-senpai murmurs, leaning forward slightly. "Fuji's about to serve."

Kirihara sends another glare towards a silently laughing Niou-senpai before turning his attention back to the game. Fuji's eyes are open this time, and he lightly tosses the ball up and down in his hand, looking relaxed. Smile playing about his lips, the brunette brings his racket forward, tossing the ball up and executing a smooth serve.

It zooms into the middle of the court, and Ryoma is there to hit a clean cross-court shot, already retreating back to the baseline, not wanting to be caught in no man's land. Fuji follows up with a deep hit, and the two rally once again, both of them holding each other off at the baseline. Ryoma finally breaks it when she rushes forward, catching the ball on its rise and hits a strong Rising Shot in between Fuji's legs. He manages to get his racket to connect with the ball before it double-bounces, but the angle of its head pushes the ball up, and Ryoma is waiting at the net. She jumps up, twisting in the air and bringing her racket down in a Cyclone Smash. Fuji grits his teeth, eyes flashing as he brings his lefthand up to grip the racket handle. He rotates clockwise as the ball passes overhead, landing on the face of the racket. The ball spins against the strings for a moment that stretches until infinity, Fuji's slender wrists trembling under the tremendous effort. The ball shoots up, soaring high above the net and higher than Ryoma can reach, even with her impossible jumps. She doesn't bother to chase after the ball, a confident smirk playing about her lips as the ball lands a few inches shy of the baseline.

"Nice try," she concedes, tapping her racket against her shoulder, "but worse than last time's Kirin Otoshi."

Fuji stands, eyelids fluttering down over his irises. "I'll return it one day, Ryo-chan."

She doesn't respond, instead heading back to her spot and hitting the ball over to Fuji.

"I'm surprised that smash hasn't ever been returned yet," Kirihara murmurs, watching as Fuji serves and another rally commences. "Not even Kirin Otoshi can do anything."

"The power and top spin on that smash is unbelievable," Niou-senpai remarks, threading his fingers through his hair. "No wonder Sanada couldn't return it back then. He probably still can't. Even at the US Open-none of her opponents were able to successfully return that smash, even when she was eliminated."

"Crazy." Kirihara pauses, then laughs. "Maa, that describes Ryoma perfectly. Absolutely crazy, but in a good way."

"If you look at it from her perspective," Niou-senpai snorts, "but from our's? Not so much."

Fuji scores a drop shot on Ryoma, who taps her racket against her shoulder a coupe of time before heading back to her position. Everyone is holding their breath, old regulars and new ones alike. He hopes that all the new Rikkai players finally understand that Yukimura-senpai, Sanada-senpai, and Yanagi-senpai weren't the only monsters in the middle school tennis circuits. That there's a reason Seigaku was able to dethrone them with a cocky first year girl.

"I wonder when she is going to activate Ten'i Muhō No Kiwami," Yagyuu-senpai remarks, sliding his glasses further up his nose. "That will be a sight."

"I haven't seen it since Tezuka opened the door," Kirihara realizes, mind flitting back to U-17. Even when Ryoma eventually came back to camp, she had never used Ten'i Muhō No Kiwami again.

"But does she really need to use it?" Niou-senpai questions, eyes following the ball as it bounces in between the two players. "If she breaks Fuji's serve, even just once, she'll win. Maybe against Tezuka, but does she need to get that serious against Fuji?"

Kirihara's eyes are on Ryoma, not the ball, so he notes the exact moment she tenses up, her head turning towards Niou-senpai. Her moment of distraction costs her, though, because Fuji sends a ball down the line on her right side and she reacts too late. The frame of her racket makes a sickening _thwack_ sound that rings in Kirihara's ears as the ball flies behind her and into the crowd. A stormy look brews on her face as she makes her way towards the crowd, catching the ball that one of Seigaku's new regulars tosses to her. Fuji, on the other side of the net, looks slightly annoyed. Either he had heard Niou-senpai's thoughtless words or he's just mad that Ryoma missed an easy shot.

The ball is thrown back to Fuji, and he calls, "30-15." This time, instead of tossing the ball into the air, he twists the ball, dropping it down in a feed serve. When his racket head connects with the ball, it zooms forward, suddenly cutting to the right. Kirihara blinks, and then the ball vanishes.

"Huh?"

Ryoma swings blindly, and she manages to clip the ball with the very edge of her frame. The ball reappears, flying off to the side and rolling onto another court.

"Ball on!"

Fuji ends up keeping his serve, and the total score is once again evened out at 3 all. Ryoma's serve is a Twist Serve, and Fuji returns it easily. This time, she tosses the racket from her right hand to her left, using her dominant hand to hit a deep shot directly on the singles line bordering the doubles alley. Fuji, on the complete opposite side of the court, is unable to cover the distance in time, and the ball double-bounces. A simple, but effective technique that probably won't be usable ever again.

"Fuji hasn't used all of his counters yet," Kirihara observes, eyes straining to make out Fuji's expression. "He's only tried Kirin Otoshi."

"He may be saving them," Yagyuu-senpai replies, although his tone is doubtful. "What I am most surprised about is that Echizen-chan hasn't used Muga no Kyōchi yet. All of her moves have been her own so far."

"You don't think they're still...playing around?" Kirihara's mouth goes dry after expressing thought, especially as he watches Ryoma slides up to the net and pops up, hitting a Drive B over Fuji's head. "No way."

"It's like their version of foreplay," Niou-senpai snickers, and Kiriara glares at him, trying his hardest to ignore the sudden heat under his collar.

"What the hell?"

"Ignore Masaharu, he just so happens to be sexually frustrated," Yagyuu-senpai dismisses Niou-senpai's remark.

"What the _hell_."

Before either of them can say anything even more embarrassing and disturbing, Ryoma wins the game and the two switch sides. As she passes by the three of them, Ryoma levels a burning glare on Niou-senpai, who only laughs and waves his fingertips at her. She grumbles under her breath and storms toward the score post, where she updates it so the score is 4-3 in her favor.

Kirihara slips his phone out of his jersey pocket to check the time. It's nearing six, and the sun should be setting in less than an hour. That's the problem with winter-the sun rises late and sets early. Looking around, he notes that the courts are awash in a honey light, and the shadows are slowly lengthening with each passing second. He's staying with Niou-senpai and his cousin, but he knows that a couple of his regulars were planning to head back to Kanagawa. At the same time...

Fuji serves, and Ryoma returns with her left hand. It looks like they're starting to get a little more serious. Fuji hits the ball short court, and when Ryoma returns it, he lobs it at the same height as his Kirin Otoshi earlier. Ryoma moves backwards in the pen stance, her body turned and ready in the forehand position. When it lands, she returns it before it reaches its peak height. The ball whizzes just past the net, a centimeter away from being a cord ball. Fuji is already at the net, and a volleys the ball at an angle, dropping it right in front of the net on the opposite side of the court. Ryoma isn't able to reach the ball.

The next point is Ryoma's with a masterful drop shot in a mockery of Fuji's last shot. They trade off points until Fuji finally manages to secure two points in a row, keeping his serve. There's a steely glint in Ryoma's eyes as she prepares for her serve. This time, she executes her new serve, bending her back down until her hair brushes against the court. The ball whizzes into the service box, bouncing towards Fuji before veering diagonally right, towards the net. Fuji's racket manages to clip the ball, sending it spinning over the net, but it lands in the doubles alley.

Ryoma's next serve is her normal Twist serve, and Fuji finally releases a second counter.

When the ball crosses over the net, Fuji is there, holding his racket up at an angle. The ball slides against the reverse side of his racket, creating a ridiculous backspin that causes Ryoma to return with topspin, no matter how hard she tries to hit a flat ball. It sinks before it reaches the net, hitting the middle of the service box and rolling the rest of the way.

"Hecatoncheires no Monban," Kirihara breathes, eyes wide and disbelieving. He hasn't seen this move since last year's Nationals. It's still just as breathtaking as back then.

Ryoma's teeth flash as the light fades away, the sun sinking deeper into the horizon. People are starting to leave. A couple of Rikkai players lightly tap Kirihara's shoulder, letting him know that they're leaving. He quickly commends them for their good work (even though he doesn't remember watching them play), ad wishes them a safe trip home. "If Kuran-senpai broke this, I'll break it."

"It took him more than a few ties, Ryo-chan," Fuji replies coldly, "and even if you do return it, a supernova awaits you."

Ryoma bares her teeth, golden eyes glinting as the street lamps slowly flicker on, one by one, the sun's last rays fading away and it becomes far too dark to play tennis.

"That's enough, you too!" Momoshiro hollers, Kaidoh nodding his silent agreement beside his captain. "You'l break a bone if you keep playing in the dark.

Neither of them move for a long moment, the tension crackling dangerously in between them before Fuji turns away, resting his racket against his shoulder and heading back to the bleachers. Ryoma follows moments later, slowly trudging off the courts and towards her bag. Murmured farewells fill the air, no one brave enough to break the heady atmosphere. It's not often that one witnesses a match between two of the strongest players in all of Japan, in all of the _world_.

Especially one that ends on such an electrifying note.

Kirihara quickly packs up, asking Niou-senpai to wait for him before jogging over to Ryoma. She's sitting on the bench, wiping the sweat off of her face and neck when he approahes her. "Hey."

She glances up, nodding in acknowledgement.

"Thanks for the match," Kirihara murmurs, shouldering his bag. "I had a lot of fun. I hadn't really expected anyone from Rakuzan to show up, so I'm glad that you and Fuji did."

"I thought you guys didn't invite us," Ryoma remarks, accepting the can of Ponta Fuji rests against her cheek.

Kirihara frowns, shaking his head slightly. "No. Momoshiro and I sent invites too Tezuka and /yukimura-senpai. I didn't know anything about Rakuzan's schedule so I just thought that you guys were still in school."

Ryoma frowns, glancinga Fuji, who looks just as troubled. "I didn't hear anything about this meet up. We met up by pure coincidence."

Kirihara frowns. Why would Yukimura-senpai and even Tezuka ignore the invite if they weren't in Kyoto, then? All of the options don't sound particularly appealing. "Oh."

That's really all he can say, and Ryoma seems to understand that because she stands, smiling slightly at Kirihara. "Whatever their reasons are, I'm glad we found you guys. I needed today. Thanks."

Her smile widens, and Kirihara is blown by how absolutely _gorgeous_ Echizen Ryoma is.

(He is _not_ blushing, by the way.)


	41. Forty First: Renascences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Extra sassy Kuroko today.
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Kuroko keeps her face a mask of indecipherable calm as the names of the schools are changed on the scoreboard and the glaring 86-70 is wiped off and replaced by zeroes as if the score had never truly been there in the first place. The entire stadium is silent except for the squeaking of shoes on the floor and the bouncing of balls off the backboard. She keeps her shoulders loose and relaxed, even though the tension in the air is so thick, she'd be hard-pressed to open her mouth for fear of choking.

Kuroko's perfectly aware of how her team is actively refusing to look at Kaijo on the opposite side of the court, and she's even more aware of how their opponents are acting in the same fashion. Even after beating Kaijo once, be it an unofficial practice match or not, there's no guarantee that Seirin will win again. No, especially not after she's watched them play against Touou and Fukuda Sogo. Kise-kun has chaged-they've all changed, Seirin included. There's no predicting which side fate will favor, and not even Satsuki-chan's calculations could possibly provide a result anymore certain than random luck and chance.

Even the audience is quiet, the background noise only a low murmur compared to the roar of earlier matches, including Rakuzan-Shutoku. It's as if these strangers can sense the history between the two teams warming up on the courts below them. Everyone is holding their breath.

Kuroko wonders if she's strong enough for this.

"Both teams are acting stiff."

"I heard Kaijo lost against Seirin in a practice game in the past."

"Seriously?"

Isolated whispers float around the stadium, quiet but loud enough and distinctive enough to catch her attention. She rolls her shoulders, tilting her head from side to side to get rid of any last vestiges of tension. She'll need to be on her top game for this match. A Kise-kun who focuses on team play is a dangerous Kise-kun, and any team with that Kise-kun is a dangerous team indeed.

"Last one!"

The spontaneous shout draws attention, and Kuroko notes how Kagami-kun's head instinctively jerks towards the source of the noise before realizing that it originated from behind them. Kuroko's grip tightens on the ball in her hands, and if her next pass has a little more force behind it, Kiyoshi-senpai doesn't mention it.

"Hey, Kise." Kasamatsu-san's voice is harsh and grating in the middle of all this tense silence. "Go give them a simple greeting."

She braces herself, ready for the sounds of his overly bright voice chasing her as she sends another pass careening towards Kiyoshi-senpai, who barely manages to catch it, but when Kise-kun shouts, "Sure!", she doesn't hear the sound of his footsteps crossing half-court.

She turns around just in time to see him dribbling down court, easily weaving through all his teammates. When his left foot brushes the edge of the free throw line, he suddenly launches himself up, higher than she remembers from the last time she watched him play. She tries not to let anything show in her expression or her body even though her heart stops for a moment before picking up an erratically fast pace.

"Wha-?"

"That can't be-"

"Dunking from the free throw line?"

Kise-kun's hands slam down onto the rim of the basket, the ball stuffed into the netting and thrown down to the ground. She's never seen anything like it before-at least, not in high school circuits. But then gain, this is _Kise-kun_ , the boy who very nearly sacrificed his body in order to perfect a copy of Aomine-kun's wild play, of Midorima-kun's impossible three's, of Murasakibara-kun's impenetrable defense and unstoppable offense, and most of all, Seijūrō's Eye. He can do anything e puts his mind too.

The stadium is filled with excited murmurs and chatter, the silence ripped to shreds by Kise-kun's "simple greeting." Kasamatsu-san seems to be thinking along the same vein, because he mutters, "I said _simple_..."

The slightly satisfied smirk on his face does little to convince Kuroko of his sincerity in that quiet reprimand.

Kise-kun mirrors his captain's smirk, landing lightly on his feet and tossing his hair back, out of his eyes. He raises a hand, points directly at Kagami-kun, who isn't succeeding at trying to pull his jaw up off of the ground. "I'm just declaring war," Kuroko's blonde ex-teammate states, self-satisfied arrogance dripping from his tone.

That does a good enough job at snapping Kagami-kun's jaw back into place, although now he looks as though he's just eaten a whole can of sour plums.

"Declaring war?"

"Jumping like that...is that even possible?"

"Yeah. He jumped about as high and far as Kagami there."

 _Maybe a bit of an exaggeration_ , Kuroko thinks. _After all, it's not as if they've seen the extent of Kagami-kun's jumping ability yet._

"Why're you standing around doing nothing, morons?" Kuroko turns toward Hyuuga-senpai, whose face is set in annoyance and ganger, both of which are directed toward Kasamatsu-senpai, Kise-kun, and everyone in Seirin. "Go return the favor. Show them who's the original."

Not for the first time, Kuroko wonders whether she should've resigned to playing girl's basketball. It ought've been less testosterone-fuelled, right?

Hyuugs-senpai tosses the ball towards Kagami-kun, who grabs it solidly in a single hand. Kagami-kun smirks, nodding his head. "Sure!" He gives Kuroko the look, the one that means that she has no choice, and she heaves a large internal sigh because _of course_ she would be dragged into this competition of intimidation before the game even starts. She doesn't make a single move as Kagami-kun heads to the three-pointer line. He bounces the ball three time before throwing it vaguely in her direction, and she' forced to move so that the ball won't fall on the ground and Kagami-kun's dignity will remain intact. With a single swipe of her arm, the ball is hit up, slowly floating towards the right side of the backboard. Kagami-kun is already in the air, and as the ball passes over the basket, he slams his arm down, hitting it straight into the net.

"He got them back!"

"An alley-oop, no less!"

"Are they both really high school students?"

Kuroko likes to think that Kise-kun looks frustrated because they just executed the same play that won Seirin the practice match so long ago.

The tension is back. It's less noticeable than before, because it simmers under a layer of excitement, nerves, and anticipation. For a brief momenrt, Kuroko questions whether the air feels that way, or is it just herself. Either way, she has to clench handfuls of her baggy shorts in order to keep her hands from shaking.

A few more minutes of warm-up pass by uneventfully, and by then Kuroko has given up on passing a relatively steady ball towards Kiyoshi-senpai. He waves off anticipated apologies, an understanding look on his face.

There's so much excitement coursing through her veins by now, it takes every last ounce of strength to keep her legs from jittering.

The players have gathered around Hyuuga-senpai. Kuroko releases her grip on the shorts, curling her fingers in against her sweaty palms. She hasn't anticipated a match this much since-

Since Ogiwara-kun.

Kuroko inhales, holding her breath for a long moment before releasing it. It's okay. It's all right. Se'll play against Kise-kun, and this time, they'll _all_ have fun.

She slowly approaches the group. "Hyuuga-senpai." They all turn their heads towards her, and instinct makes her grip her left wrist with her right hand, ignoring the faintest echo of phantom pain. She's been finding it easier and easier to use her left hand again, after Phantom Shot, but she'll never regain the full range of motion she had been able to execute before the...incident. "I've been trying to hold back all this time, but it's no good."

"Huh?"

Kuroko drops her right arm, lifts her left hand to chest-level, and stares down at her open fingers. She curls them in, forming a solid fist. Most of them understand that such an action carries so much meaning, to her, the Miracles watching the game right now, and the one on court, who may or may not be watching her. Kiyoshi-senpai smiles at her, and Kagami-kun looks slightly perplexed. Neither of them make a comment.

She raises her head, staring directly up at Hyuuga-senpai's glasses. "I'm so excited, I can't wait for the game to start."

"Moron," is Hyuuga-senpai's immediate response, smirk in place, as if Seirin has already won. "That goes for all of us. And it can be said for every single person on this court right now."

Kuroko lets a smile slip out of her mask as she drops her arm, uncurling her fist.

_Moron, indeed._

By the time the buzzer sounds, Kuroko is up and ready. She's declined offers of water, snacks, and massages, too hyped on adrenaline to tolerate sitting down for more than five seconds. Besides, her mind is focused right now.

They'll all need focused once this game starts.

The crowd roars as the two teams stand and make their way to the center of the court. The silence from earlier seems a figment of her imagination in the wake of all this noise. She can't say which she prefers.

"t's gonna start..."

"The new star of miracles, Seirin High School!"

"And those that wear the blue of tradition...the blue elites of Kaijo High!"

Kuroko's always marveled over the creativity of some of these basketball fans. She's heard everything back in Teikou, from "bastardly kings" to "rainbow-haired kingsnakes" to "gangbangers and their prostitute." Oh, yeah, they think that she can't hear them but she had sharp ears even when she was a pre-pubescent twelve-year-old. And she was an impressionable one at that.

At least these names are much, much nicer.

"Let's have a good game." Hyuuga-senpai's eyes are deadly serious as he offers his hand to Kasamatsu-san, although Ksijo's captain looks exactly the same, if not more severe.

Kasamatsu-san grasps Hyuuga-senpai's hand, shaking it firmly once. "Let's do." They stare at each other for a long moment before Kasamatsu-san's lips twitch upwards and the harsh lines of his eyebrows pull up. "Good. That's how it should be! Now I can get my revenge without holding back."

Kuroko adjusts the sweatbands on her wrists, this time more for practical use than for the false sense of security. As she does so, she hears Kiyoshi-senpai ask behind her, "Whats wrong, Izuki? You're looking a bit stiff."

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine. If that's the case, I'm just a bit nervous. If anything, I'm excited, just like Kuroko-chan said." Kuroko's lips twitch slightly. "Up until now, the opponent seemed more like 'enemy' than anything else. But now, I'm feeling only a good fighting spirit that has no ulterior motives. Spirited spirits!"

"Izuki...that last line was completely unnecessary."

"Hey, Koga!" Hyuuga-senpai calls, "We're gonna change the starting lineup!"

"What?" Izuki-senpai shouts.

Kuroko chuckles silently to herself, straightening out her band with one last tug before heading towards her position. She can still hear Kiyoshi-senpai speak in a much more serious one, "Maa, I understand what you're trying to say. Let's enjoy this!"

She'll never regret joining this team.

"You do look excited."

Kuroko glances up at the sound of Kagami-kun's voice. He smiles down at her, red eyes glowing with excitement. "Do I?"

"Mmm. I can tell. It's because you're playing Kise at full strength, right?" Kagami-kun grins wolfishly. "I know that's how I feel."

"You're right," she concedes, "although I'm more excited about Kise-kun's growth as a player and a human being."

Kagami-kun stares at her for a moment before smirking, resting his forearm on top of her head and leaning down. "You're acting like a mother, Tetsuya, I think you should stop before he starts growing too dependent on me."

Kuroko manages a faint smile even as she swats Kagami-kun's arm off her head, smoothing misplaced hairs and absentmindedly tugging at her ponytail. "I think he already is, Kagami-kun."

"Kagamicchi." Speak of the devil and he shall arrive. Kuroko's face smooths back into its mask as she turns to meet Kise-kun. All traces of amusement, internal or external, completely vanish upon her catching sight of the shadows playing around his face. "That day, when I lost a game for the first time, that frustration...I haven't forgotten about it until now, not even for a single day." A slight smile twists his lips, tinged with sadness. "but, because of that, I realized one thing." He lifts his head, golden eyes gleaming as the fluorescent lights awash them in a harsh glow, and even though he's looking at Kagami-kun, Kuroko can't help but feel as though he's really addressing her when he says in a choked voice, "I really do love basketball after all. To the point where I really can give it everything I've got. So..." That smile shifts, morphing into a smirk, challenge glinting in the slant of his eyes and line of his teeth. "I'm never going to lose again."

Kuroko's happy, but mostly she's relieved. It may have taken him awhile to have this epiphany, but she doesn't want to shoot him down when he looks so happy.

Kagami-kun doesn't seem to think the same. "Kise...aren't you a bit slow to realize that?"

"What?" Kise flinches back, and the sight is more than a little amusing.

Kagami-kun sighs, placing a hand on his hip and reaching up with his other hand to run his fingers through his hair. "Maybe not...more like, maybe you've softened up a bit?" He frowns a little before shrugging, dropping the hand that had been in his hair. "Either way, the details don't matter anymore." He smirks, a just as challenging glint entering his own eyes. "We can't help but itch to jump in. Let's hurry up and do this."

"Kurokocchi, do you agree to that?"

Kuroko glances away from Kagami-kun to stare blankly up at Kise-kun. She contemplates for a moment before nodding. "Hai." Turning fully to face Kise-kun directly, she adds, "And the other thing that I'm thinking is how I used to hate you."

It takes lot for her to not burst int laughter at the moment of silent disbelief that follows her announcement, and the mangled emotions running across Kise-kun's face, as if he can't decide whether he's shocked, horrified, or pained. His face finally settles on a mix of all three and every other emotion that Kuroko could possibly name as he chokes out, "Huh? What? Why would you say that so bluntly?"

He wallows in his misery for a moment before Kuroko clarifies, "I mean that in a good way."

"How could that possibly be good?"

"I always thought you were special." Kuroko, despite her best intentions, instinctively looks away from Kise-kun's expression(s), because what she's about to reveal isn't something she's necessarily proud of. It's that vulnerable, insecure side of her that plagues her sometimes, from everything between her basketball to her presence to her boob size. She doesn't listen to it every day, but whenever she does, it destroys her. "Seijūrō appointed me as your mentor. He's never done that for any player, no matter how promising. Of course, you passed me in terms of basketball talent in no time. I realize that our potentials were different-and they still are." She closes her eyes, breathes in. When she opens them again, Kise-kun's expression has softened-just a tad, and though he still looks hurt and confused, he looks less hurt and confused than before. "But still, I was frustrated, and I felt like I didn't want to lose to you. A new player, right off the bat, who didn't even take basketball seriously. How could I have let you beat me so thoroughly? So ever since then, I've had this unrequited notion that, hmm-" Kuroko hums slightly, knowing that both of the basketball players, one standing beside her and on in front, will be able to detect the slight embarrassment that comes from admitting something so personal aloud. "-that you were my rival."

Kise-kun jolts as if he's been struck. His eyes widen and his lips part and Kuroko briefly wonders how he's going to react because she;s never been able to very accurately predict, not with Kise-kun and serious topics. Then he's opening his mouth, and he's saying, "Well, I'll be...not only in a good way...stuff like that totally fires me up!"

Kise smirks, and there's no hint of judgement, of derision in his eyes. Kuroko relaxes, a faint smile playing about her lips. "That's good."

The whistle blows, and Kise-kun shoots another challenging smirk in Kagami-kun's direction before jogging back to his position, a new bounce in his step. Kuroko lightly taps her fist against Kagami-kun's in their pre-game ritual, and then they head towards the line forming in the center of the court, side by side.

_"We will now begin the match between Kaijo High and Seirin High. Bow!"_

"Thank you for the game!"

Kiyoshi-senpai and Kaijo's Kobori-san stand in the center, ready for the tip-off. Kuroko marks Hayakawa-san, who fortunately isn't shouting right now, they he may very soon in the future. The referee throws the ball up in the air, and both players jump for it.

Kobori-san's fingertips are just centimeters away from brushing the ball when Kiyoshi-senpai manages to touch it first, hitting it towards Hyuuga-senpai who immediately throws it to Izuki-senpai before Moriyama-san can intercept.

Izuki-senpai runs the ball down court, following the plan. The game is always in the favor of whoever scores first, and while Kuroko knows that real life doesn't always work out like that, any sort of advantage right off the bat is always a good advantage. Aida-san thinks so too.

_"Go full on offense from the start!"_

Offense isn't particularly Kuroko's style, but she understands the need behind it, especially in this case. She's in position when Izuki-senpai passes the ball to her, right hand steadying the ball first before it touches her left hand. She dribbles the rest of the way to the basket, easily driving past Kasamatsu-san when he runs to intercept her. He reacts too late, having been fooled by her Vanishing Drive.

Before Moriyama-san can even reach her, she's settling back on her heels, lifting her arms and cradling the entire weight of the ball in her left hand. She doesn't let the slight uncomfortableness bother her (she's gotten over it, she has, she has, she has), instead pulling her right arm back and slamming her palm upwards, into the ball, and driving it far above their heads.

The ball sinks into the basket, untouched.

Not even ten seconds in, and Kuroko has scored the first basket for Seirin. She won't lie about how amazing that fact makes her feel.

Victory is short-lived.

She hardly turns around to head back up court when the sound of a ball cutting through the air reaches her ears, and she looks up just in time to watch the ball streak overhead in a ridiculously high arc and fall perfectly into the basket, without even disturbing the net. The ball slowly rolls to a stop amid the utter silence that the stadium has fallen into.

Ten seconds in and Kuroko scores a basket. Less than a second and Kise-kun has reclaimed those points.

"it can't be that he's starting off with it!" Hyuuga-senpai breathes, and Kuroko would agree if not for the fact that she just watched Kise-kun shoot one of Midorima-kun's inhumane three-pointers.

She slowly turns back around, staring at Kise-kun. He slowly lowers his arms, and the air grows thicker, almost as if Kise-kun's power is saturating the area. "What Kagamicchi said before the game...there was one thing that annoyed me." His head lifts, and yellow eyes that Kuroko believes to pale in comparison to the deep burnished gold of Ryoma-chan's hold a glow that have nothing to do with the lighting. "Who softened up, and when?"

_Is Kaijo's coach crazy?_

Kuroko questions the sanity of every single Kaijo member as the ball comes back on court and Izuki-senpai throws it in to her. It's only been a day since Kaijo's match against Fukuda. There's no way that Kise-kun could've recovered so quickly. And now he's using Perfect Copy from the get go? She can't understand what they're possibly hoping to achieve by burning out their ace.

Not to mention the fact that she's disappointed Kise-kun would even agree to this plan-or that he would propose it. She had always thought that the only thing the Generation of Miracles and she would ever agree upon when it came to basketball is the dangerous consequences of ignoring one's boundaries. Kise-kun is clearly doing that.

She pulls her arm back, punching the ball half in frustration and half because she needs to execute an Ignite Pass. It zooms through the crowd of players, and Kiyoshi-senpai just barely manages to catch it. Kobori-san runs up and follows Kiyoshi-senpai up into the air, managing to cover the lost seconds with his height and long arms. Kiyoshi-senpai turns his hand, tossing the ball back into Hyuuga-senpai's hands. Free of any marks, Hyuuga-senpai's shot should go in-

Except Kise-kun slams it to the side with a force and power that cannot possibly be his own.

Kasamats-san grabs the ball, tossing it behind him to Kise-kun as Seirin spreads out and guards their marks. Kise jumps up, arms raised for a three.

"Not letting you!" Kiyoshi-senpai shouts, rushing up and jumping. Kise-kun falls to the ground faster than he left it, and suddenly he's moving much faster, gait much smoother, much more graceful.

 _Aomine-kun_. Kuroko would recognize her ex-light's play, no matter who executes it.

Kagami-kun plants himself in between Kise-kun and the basket. "Bring it, Kise!"

"Kagami! We're counting on you!"

"That's useless." Kuroko can't see Kise-kun's expression, but his voice is firm. "Nobody can stop me now!"

Kuroko's heart practically sinks into her stomach as she watches Kise-kun's legs and the increase in pace, following a pattern that she _knows_ , that she's helped _develop_. If she'll never forget Aomine-kun's play, she'll _never_ forget Seijūrō's basketball. Kise-kunbounces the ball from side to side, and one decisive flick of the wrist sends the ball in between his legs and Kagami-kun onto the ground. With no one blocking him, Kise-kun scores a basket.

"Impossible...what he just did..."

"A detailed eye of observation to make an instant copy of the opponent's moves possible." Seirin turns to look at Kasamatsu-san, who doesn't look impressed so much as determined. "Add the experience nurtured by all games played till now. And, a natural basketball sense. It's still not absolute like Akashi Seijūrō's, but the future can be seen with an accuracy infinitely close to his. Now, _that_ is a line that I never expected to ever say in my entire life."

Kuroko closes her eyes. Maybe not as absolute but still infallible as of now. And infallible is not what Seirin needs.

Only a Kagami-kun in the Zone could possibly hope to stand up to Kise-kun as he is right now, but the chance of that is less than one percent and even though that means there's still a chance, that chance is slim at best. For five more minutes, Kaijo will continue to dominate the scores.

_What can Kuroko do to help?_

* * *

_"Copy cat player, huh?" Ryoma-cahn's golden eyes sparkle in amusement as she tosses back a can of grape Ponta. "I have experience with one of those."_

_Kuroko blinks, turning her head away from the book in her hands to Ryoma-chan. "Really?"_

_"Yeah._ Really _annoying, too. I don't remember his name, but he was one of the flashiest guys I've ever had the displeasure of meeting. Had to make a show out of every time he changed his playing style. His hair was absolutely ridiculous. You'd think he's some kind of anime character with all that product in his hair."_

_Kuroko's lips curl up slightly in amusement. "So this boy really isn't all that different from Kise-kun."_

_"Maa, I wouldn't say that. To me, it sounds like Kise-kun's actually pretty talented, if melodramatic. Maybe that's a thing all copy cats share."_

_"Maybe."_ _They're silent for a long moment before Kuroko asks, "So how'd you beat him?"_

_Ryoma-chan smirks. "It wasn't me. But it was really satisfying, seeing Kao-senpai wipe the floor with him. He did a real thorough job of it too. Apparently, the creep looked at me one too many times."  
_

_Kuroko blinks then chuckles. "I bet that's happened a lot."_

_"What, the looking or the beating?"_

_"Both."_

_"It's not like I can complain. I'm one of the perpetrators myself."_

_Kuroko, despite herself, glances at Ryoma-chan, a slight mischievous tint to her voice as she asks, "The looking or the beating?"_

_Ryoma-chan only gives her an unimpressed stare before replying, "Which do you think?"_

_It really didn't take a lot of thought to choose one._


	42. Forty Second: Kismet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have literally no excuse as to why I dropped off the face of the Earth with this fic. All I can do is tell you that I'm hoping to be sticking with my usual one update per week schedule from now until the end of this fic-which, I feel, won't be happening for a long, LONG time.
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

_Forty Second: Kismet_

Kagami clenches his jaw so hard, he's afraid that it'll crack.

 _Fuckity fucky fuck_ , is all his mind helpfully provides as Kise successfully stops every single one of Seirin's attacks, one by one. He's learned his lesson in the Yosen-Seirin match-he won't be relying on a last minute pull into the Zone, won't be relying on Tetsuya whipping something out of her ass at the last minute, or another miracle buzzer beater because god knows that Seirin's position in this tournament is held together by those things.

But even though Kise's complete domination over the game has a timer counting down to its expiration, within those five minute, if Seirin doesn't manage to find some way to counterattack, Kaijo will have widened the point gap so far, Seirin would be scrambling to recover.

"Izuki!"

Kagami keeps his guard up as he watches Izuki-senpai pass the ball around his back to Hyuuga-senpai, whose desperation leaks through with his determination. "If we can't stop them, we've got to score ourselves!" Number five rushes up to guard Hyuuga-senpai. "We don't make anything if we don't attack!"

Hyuuga-senpai pushes off his feet, quickly backing up into Barrier Jump form despite having been blocked previously. Recognizing the stance, number five moves forward to block when Hyuuga-senpai suddenly pushes his hands forward instead of up, bounce passing the ball straight through number five's spread legs.

Tetsuya is there, snatching the ball up, teeth gritted as she holds her hands up in her unconventional shooting form-ball resting on her left hand, right hand balancing the ball.

"Go, Kuroko!"

Kagami is taken aback when Kise immediately shoots forward, leaving Kagami completely open. Tetsuya's eyes widen slightly-clearly, she hadn't been expecting the bold move from Kise either. Even Murasakibara hadn't been able to stop her Phantom Shot. Yet Tetsuya's eyes are moving from Kise to Kagami, a silent way of telling him that she'll pass to him instead of taking the chance in shooting. He doesn't understand why, but he trusts her, and nods imperceptibly to her in response.

"I'm sorry, but it's useless to swap over to a pass." Tetsuya stiffens slightly, pausing in her adjustments. Kagami can't see Kise's face, but he's sure that the blonde ace is watching Tetsuya with those eerily glowing yellow irises, piercing in quality and cold as ice. "Even if impossible, the ball is in the air." Tetsuya shoots, the ball disappearing from sigh the moment it leaves her finger tips. "If I can figure out which direction it was shot from..." Yet Kise has jumped, hand placed so deliberately in the air that there's no doubt that he knows where the ball is-and then his arm jerks back as if meeting a nonexistent resistance. The ball flashes into appearance again, falling away from Kise. Tetsuya's Phantom Shot has been blocked. "I can stop it!"

In the midst of cheering players and shocked teammates, Tetsuya stands stock still as Kise walks away from her. Her hair is pulled back from her face into her customary ponytail, and he can clearly see the way her eyes stare unseeingly down at the ground, her mind racing a mile a minute. And why shouldn't she be? Despite not being able to see a ball, Kise stopped her shot, shutting it down with brute force. Kagami swiftly walks up to her, lightly resting a hand on her slight shoulder. "Tetsuya, are you all right?"

"No...I give up."

All of Seirin falls silent at the soft words that hold such importance, they're heard even over the roar of the crowds. Kagami opens his mouth to...to do something, because he's mad and shocked and sad and angry all at once. Instead, his jaw snaps closed when Tetsuya continues speaking.

"Kise-kun was amazing after all..."

Yet despite her defeated words, Kagami can see that her eyes are glinting, a fire rekindling within them that had been lost earlier. There's suddenly a new meaning to her words.

"That was an utter defeat for me."

An end in exchange for a beginning.

Tetsuya's head lifts, chin raised high in the air, and a small smile curls her lips as Kise turns around, glowing yellow eyes watching them with a crystal clear sharpness that doesn't belong on his face. "He's such a formidable opponent that it makes me laugh."

There's nothing amusing about the light dancing in her eyes.

* * *

Kagami swears that he can see Aomine every time Kise's back bends impossibly in order to sink a Formless Shot flawlessly into the net, can see Akashi every time his arms and legs move inhumanely fast enough to ankle break his opponent, can see Midorima in the way the ball is released from his hands and arcs elegantly into the net from a distance of at least ten meters, can see Murasakibara when he leaps and spins in the air, knocking down all attempts at blocking the massive dunk.

"Kise's unstoppable!"

"Unrivaled defense and offense!"

"They rushed to a thirteen-point lead!"

Kagami swallows down his spit, wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand as he attempts to catch his breath. His ass still hurts from falling onto the ground after Kise's dunk. It's only been four minutes into the first quarter, three since Kise began using Perfect Copy. The score is already 15-2 in Kaijo's favor.

_Kise's Perfect Copy is like facing against the Generation of Miracles all at once. This bites ass. I can't get handle on this! And he's only been using it for three minutes. I'm going to have to deal with this for at least two more minutes? Damn it!_

As if reading his thoughts, Kise suddenly stretches, arms reaching up above his head to clasp each other. "Man, this is rough." It sounds more like a taunt than a complaint, and Kagami wants to punch him in the face. "For now, I guess I'll take a break." Kagami grits his teeth, feeling rage boiling deep in his gut. _Is he mocking us?_ "Copying those guys is pretty rough after all...I can't really collapse so soon into the game. We still have most of the game to play, so I have to save the fun part for later..." His lips tilt up into a smirk as he lowers his arms, resting his hands on his hips. "But that served its purpose plenty." He raised a finger pointing it directly at Kagami, that taunting, mocking edge curling around his entire body. "We have the advantage now."

Tetsuya lightly taps her fist against his shoulder as Kise saunters away. "Calm down, Kagami-kun. It won't help anyone if you go on a rampage and rack up fouls."

"I am calm!" Kagami inhales deeply, stepping away from Tetsuya and making his way back into position. Despite his words, he can still feel irritation itching at his skin when Kise moves in to guard him, an infuriating smirk on his face. _Just one punch...or one basket._

The next few plays are absolute shit. He can practically feel Tetsuya's reproachful stare drilling into his back as his fadeaway shot bounces off the rim of the hoop, his muscles too tense and jerky to score anything. Hyuuga-senpai misses a three-pointer as well, and Tetsuya keeps as far away from the crossfire as possible. Kagami's vision bounces in between the scoreboard and the ball every other second, the urge to score points and close the gap growing more and more every single time, along with the frustration that comes along with not being able to.

The whistle blows, and the players straighten as the ball rolls to a stop out of bounds. Coach stands, drawing Seirin's attention. "Izuki-kun! Change players."

Kagami can only watch in confusion as Izuki-senpai walks off court, grabbing the towel Kawahara hands to him, and Furihata stands up, walking stiffly forward with his hands clenched into tight fists at the side of his body. His legs are spread and braced against the ground, as if expecting someone to punch him in the stomach at any moment. His eyes seem to be permanently stuck in _deer in the headlights_ mode, and his lips are pressed so tightly together, Kagami's slightly afraid that they're be bloodless when he finally loosens them. Despite his resolutely closed mouth, Furihata is breathing heavily, his chest heaving under enormous gasps for breath. Kagami can practically hear his heartbeat from here, the poor boy is so terrified.

Seirin's ace has no idea how to feel about the sudden and unprecedented switch, but he trusts Coach, who's currently glaring at him as if daring him to speak up and voice his confusion.

Furihata takes one step into the court and freezes, gaze swinging wildly from the audience to the players to his friends on the bench who're loudly encouraging him to move further onto court. The nerves are practically pouring off of in waves, and Kagami wonders whether he's going to throw up. Izuki-senpai lightly pats Furihata's shoulder from behind him, sipping from the bottle of water he had picked up. "We're counting on you, Furihata. You've got number four."

Furihata practically whimpers, mechanically lifting his arms and legs up to walk onto court, looking more like a robot than a human being. His lips have loosened (and they _are_ white), his jaw practically touching his collarbone as he ventures further out into a space he had only stood on during practice. As Furihata walks past Kagami, he awkwardly pats the smaller boy's back, wanting to encourage him but not knowing how to. "Don't know what the Coach is thinking, but let's do our best, Furihata!" The boy nods woodenly as he twists his head to stare at Kagami, eyes wide and blank, devoid of any higher thinking.

_Coach...are you sure that this is going to be okay?_

Tetsuya watches Furihata pass her by, clearly concerned about his mental state. She attempts to encourage him as well with a standard, "Let's do our best, Furhata-kun!" When he walks straight past her without even acknowledging that he heard her, her jaw slackens slightly. "...Huh?"

He's so out of it, he didn't even notice Tetsuya.

Furihata slows to a stop in front of Kaijo's captain, whose name Kagami doesn't remember. But Kagami _does_ remember that he reminds him a lot of Hyuuga-senpai, and for good reason to. Kaijo's captain raises his chin, eyes narrowing and brows pulling down as he practically growls, "What the...they sent a tensed up first year?"

Furihata cowers back, his entire body shaking.

_Coach, I really don't think that this is going to be okay._

Hyuuga-senpai starts with the ball, and Kagami sends one last look at Furihata before he focuses on the game. He throws the ball in to Furihata, who still looks tense as he shakily dribbles down court. It's something out of some sort of nightmare when Furihata bounces the ball on his foot, making the greenest mistake he could've made in an official game. It shoots up and out of Furihata's control, and Hyuuga-senpai shouts, "Calm down!" as Furihata scrambles forward to grab the ball, which falls easily into Kaijo's captain's grip.

The guy looks more annoyed than anything else, but he shrugs. "Maa...thanks, I guess." Easily ducking around Furihata's flailing arms, he dribbles forward when suddenly a flash of blue hair appears by his side and suddenly Tetsuya'a pale arm shoots out, easily slamming the ball out of his grasp. He jerks back, staring at her in shock, and she only fixes him with a blank expression while blandly stating, "Sorry, please hold on a moment. It seems that he's still nervous."

Kagami attempts to play his laugh off as a cough, but the annoyed glance Hyuuga-senpai shoots him clearly says that he wasn't all that successful. Kaijo's captain meanwhile turns to glare at Tetsuya, forgetting about the ball for a moment. "Huh? Like I give a crap!"

In that moment, Furihata grabs hold of the ball, staring at the ground with a dejected slump to his shoulders. "Furihata-kun." The boy glances up at Tetsuya, whose face hasn't changed at all yet still seems to smile at him. "It's all right. During my debut game, I tripped and got a nosebleed."

"Kuroko..." Furihata whispers, shoulders relaxing before an awkward smile pulls at his lips. "Seriously?"

"I'm serious." Again, her face doesn't change at all, but the atmosphere suddenly turns more depressed.

Furihata still isn't relaxed, but there's a more confident backbone to his movements now. He dribbles up to Kaijo's captain, who still looks pissed off, and Kagami shouts, "Hey!"

Furihata passes the ball to him, and Kise is immediately in front of him, guarding him intensely. "I won't miss next time! Time for a duel, Kise!"

Kise smirks. "I'll take you on!" he calls in that taunting, mocking voice of his, and Kagami's blood is boiling even higher now. Gritting his teeth, he moves to drive forward when a shrill shout freezes him in place.

"Kagami, stop!" His head whips to the side, where he sees Furihata raising a shaking hand palm forward as if trying to use his mind to physically stop Kagami from moving. "C-C-Calm down!"

Kagami raises an eyebrow, grip tightening on the ball. "Huh? What? You're the one who needs to calm down!"

Taking a deep breath, Kagami turns back to face Kise before passing back to Furihata. There's no need to face off against Kise again. It's a good thing that Furihata stopped him when he had, regardless of the inaccuracy of his words, because otherwise...

"What? Not coming?" Kagami really, _really_ wants to punch Kise in the face.

"Shut up. For now, we're evening this." And it takes all of Kagami's willpower to turn around and walk away from the face off.

Tetsuya looks damn proud of him as he passes by her.

As the game continues on, even Kagami can feel that something has changed. Their playing isn't necessarily slow paced, but it definitely isn't as fast and reckless as it had been earlier. Despite being a player who reacts more than acts, Kagami finds himself keeping himself from instinctually going after the ball, realizing seconds later that if he had, the ball would've been stolen from him for sure. Just with the addition of Furihata on court, all of Seirin has seemed to calm down, beginning to use their minds rather than just their bodies.

With Furihata here, the game's pace has changed entirely.

For what seems like the first time since Kise blocked her Phantom Shot, Tetsuya touches the ball that Furihata passes her, redirecting it through the crowd of players into Kiyoshi-senpai's hands. Number eight jumps to block the dunk he thinks is coming when Kiyoshi-senpai instead turns and passes the ball backwards into Hyuuga-senpai's hands. Before number five can reach him, Hyuuga-senpai has shot the ball, and it sinks into the basket cleanly.

"All right!" Hyuuga-senpai crows, slapping the back of Furihata's head and ruffling his hair.

"Nice pass, Furihata!" Kiyoshi-senpai grins, tapping Furihata's back.

"Looks like you've relaxed a bit. Let's keep it up!"

Kagami's always known that Furihata is a solid player. He isn't all that flashy, and out of all the regulars, the only one he'd be able to beat in a race or a physical competition is Tetsuya, but Furihata has good moves, and most of all, he thinks even when he's scared witless. Kagami can't even begin to count how many times he's managed to pull a Seirin player out of a tight pinch.

Furihata, Kawahara, and Fukuda might all think that they aren't needed, but they're wrong. They're wrong, because Kagami sees how hard they work to catch up with everyone around them. He sees how they push their bodies harder than they ever have before. He sees how they scream for joy when Hyuuga-senpai scores a goal, groans in disappointment when Izuki-senpai's pass is intercepted. He sees how genuinely they care about each and everyone of Seirin's members, and how they rarely ever let any bitterness or anger over their lack of playtime affect them. And there aren't many people who can do that.

They're as much a part of Seirin as Kagami and Tetsuya are.

And now, they'll know.

Tetsuya's eyes seem to glow as Furihata slowly walks back to his position, a sort of shocked euphoria filling his limbs with enough helium that he seems to be floating above the ground. She raises a hand, and Kagami mirrors her, grinning at Furihata whose unfocused eyes sharpen in confusion on their raised hands. It takes a moment for him to realize, and once he does, a bright smile lights up his face as he gives both of them a resounding high-five.

It's time for them to realize that they aren't just bench warmers, and they should be damn proud of that fact.

A time out is called, and Kagami glances at the scoreboard as the three of them make their ways back to the bench. With approximately two minutes left in the first quarter, the score is 23-15 in Kaijo's favor. They've closed the gap from thirteen to eight, but there's still three more quarters, and Kise has two minutes of Perfect Copy left.

Kagami gets the feeling that even if Seirin does win, they'll do so by the skin of their teeth.

"I'm swapping Furihata-kun out," Coach announces once all the players are sitting on the bench. "Good job!" She grins at him, giving him a thumbs up.

Furihata's head jerks up, eyes wide. "Oh! Thanks!"

"It's all your's next, Izuki-kun."

Izuki-senpai grins, nodding. "I'll play my best play!"

Coach kneels, ignoring Izuki-senpai's attempt at a pun. "Now that we've settled that, we'll go with the original plan. We'll use our main fortification that wasn't at the practice game before. Build your plays around Teppei!"

Kiyoshi-senpai looks up from the container of honeyed lemons in his hand, grinning and nodding as he takes a bite out of one. "Leave it to me!"

Hyuuga-senpai knocks his shoulder into Kiyoshi-senpai's, grabbing a lemon for himself. "Obviously!"

The whistle blows, signaling the continuation of the game. As Kagami stands to walk back out onto court, Tetsuya lightly tugs at his jersey. Turning, he raises an eyebrow at her. "What?"

She tightens her ponytail, adjusting the sweatband around her left wrist as she says, "I'm proud of the way you ignored Kise-kun's taunts. He looked a bit put off himself."

Kagami smirks, shrugging and turning back to face the court. "I told you I was calm."

"We both knew that it was a lie."

"Well, now it isn't!"

"Hai, hai." Tetsuya's smiling as she ghosts past him, and the ball is thrown in to Kiyohsi-senpai.

Tetsuya immediately begins to move towards the hoop, opposite of where Kiyoshi-senpai is standing. Her movements are large and exaggerated, but not in a noticeable way, meant to draw attention when normally she would avoid it. Number eight doesn't seem to realize the trap as Kiyohsi-senpai turns, moving as if to pass to Tetsuya, and the Kaijo player follows, reaching out to steal the ball when Kiyoshi-senpai suddenly twists his wrist, spinning and jumping before number eight realizes what's happening. The shot rolls around the rim before sinking into the net.

Kagami scowls as he sees the layout of Kaijo's offense. _Isolation_. Kaijo's captain and Izuki-senpai are in direct line with the basket while the rest of Kaijo's players herd Seirin off to the side, leaving the center completely empty.

Kaijo's captain breaks past Izuki-senpai after a quick feint to the right, although it being a feint doesn't explain Izuki-senpai's shocked expression. Maybe it had originally been genuine...but Kaijo's captain was fast enough to change directions?

"Not letting you through!" Kyioshi-senpai shouts, running and jumping to block Kaijo's captain's shot. The guy maneuvers in the air, pulling his arm back slightly before shooting the ball into the net, Kiyoshi-senpai's hand just shy of touching it.

"Mada mada dane," Kaijo's captain growls, triumphant smirk on his face.

Kagami isn't expecting to hear a muffled snicker, and especially _not_ coming from Tetsuya. Except there she is, pursing her lips in an attempt to keep her laughter reigned in, eyes bright. She doesn't look at all affected at the fact that Kaijo just scored a goal. As if sensing his gaze, she glances towards him, and answers his silent question with one word. "Ryoma-chan."

_Ah. Of course, that clearly explains everything._

"Izuki!" Kagami and Tetsuya turn towards Hyuuga-senpai, who has approached Izuki-senpai. The point guard looks annoyed, and for good reason. "I'm pretty sure that they'll come full force using that same pattern. They're planning everything thinking that they'll pass you. In other words, they think the least of you."

Kagami winces, feeling a bite of sympathy for Izuki-senpai. Hyuuga-senpai doesn't sugarcoat things, does he? Izuki-senpai lowers his head. "Yeah...I know that." He pulls away from Hyuuga-senpai, rushing back to position.

Kagami moves to quickly catch up with Hyuuga-senpai, hissing, "Wait, Captain, isn't that a bit too harsh to start with?"

Hyuuga-senpai's head turns slightly as he continues to move onwards. "Huh? Don't go getting nice and soft all of a sudden, moron! Izuki started with mini basketball in second grade. His career's longer than any of our's. Don't worry. He won't get all dejected just from this. He's got the greatest passion for basketball at Seirin. It's senseless to tell him to do his best."

Hyuuga-senpai pulls ahead, and Kagami falls backward, staring at his back. _He really is a softie on the inside..._

In the next play, Kagami's pass to to Hyuuga-senpai gets past Kise's guard but is quickly picked up by number five. "Crap!"

"Get back!" Hyuuga-senpai roars.

Number five passes to Kaijo's captain, who is immediately set upon by Izuki-senpai, who looks even more determined to stop him than before. "Sorry, but you can't stop me, kid."

Izuki-senpai doesn't respond. Kagami can't see his expression with his face being hidden behind Kaijo's captain's build. He doesn't make a move to stop Kaijo's captain as he drives past him, easily breaking past his defense. For a moment, Kagami thinks that Izuki-senpai has given up.

"Izuki!"

But with Kaijo's captain no longer blocking Izuki-senpai, Kagami can see his face. Therefore, he can see the small smile on Izuki-senpai's face, full of confidence and sure of his control over the situation. "Eagle Spear!"

His arm flashes back, fingers jabbing the ball directly out of Kaijo's captain's grip despite not glancing once behind his back. The unexpected assault during the most defenseless moment of a full drive easily forces the ball out of the player's hands, and Hyuuga-senpai picks it up, shouting, "All right!"

He makes the basket.

"I tie with my eye!" Izuki-senpai grins at Kaijo's captain, who looks slightly green upon hearing the words.

"Shut up, Izuki!"

The ball is thrown in to Kaijo's captain again, who looks a lot more wary of Izuki-senpai this time. "I apologize. To be honest, I sold you short, Shun Izuki." _How the heck do these people know everyone's names?_

"I'd be troubled if all you thought of me was a guy with great puns," Izuki-senpai replies, not as smoothly as he probably thinks that he did.

"Huh? Great puns? When did you make any?"

"Eh?" A suddenly despondent look falls across Izuki-senpai's face.

Kaijo's captain scowls as he attempts to break past Izuki-senpai, who holds him back. It's clear that he's stalling for time, thinking his options over. He knows that he could break past Izuki-senpai, but there'll be the chance of the Eagle Spear catching the ball anyways. And even if Kaijo's captain does have the speed to escape the Eagle Spear, he'll have to focus so much on avoiding Izuki-senpai's counter, Tetsuya will be able to easily come in and steal the ball.

"Don't falter! Pass him!"

Easier said than then, even Kagami acknowledges that.

"Senpai!"

Kagami's eyes narrow in on Kise, standing in front of him with his hand out to catch the ball that Kaijo's captain throws to him. He doesn't look all that pleased at having to pull back.

Now, he feels much more grounded than he had before Furihata came onto court. He knows his limits...as well as he ever knew them. Kise smirks. "So interesting..."

Kise drives forward, attempting to break past Kagami's guard. He matches the blonde ace step for step, never letting up on the pressure. Kise halts just before reaching the free throw lane, suddenly pulling back up and jumping to make a shot. Kagami follows him into the air, easily swatting the ball out of the air. Izuki-senpai grabs it, passing it back to Kagami, who easily drives past the player who had stepped up to block him.

"Kagami!"

"Go!"

Kagami races up to the hoop, jumping up for a dunk when Kise barrels in from the side, slamming the ball out of his hand and out of bounds.

"He stopped it?"

"Neither ace is yielding!"

Kagami lands on the ground, exhaling sharply. As he heads back to his position, he asks Izuki-senpai, "Senpai, please give me the ball again next time. Please!"

Izuki-senpai nods, smiling slightly. "Sure!"

_Next time, I busting through for sure._

And between one second and the next, Kagami isn't sure what happened. All he remembers is the feeling of the ball landing solidly in his hands. The next thing he remembers is the rim of the basket digging into his palms, shuddering under his rough grip. The ball bounces on the ground, and he lets go, landing heavily on his two feet.

Kagami slowly straightens, staring at Kise who looks nothing short of excited. "I win!"

"Damn you!" Kise replies, except he's smiling and his eyes are burning with fire.

* * *

"Ne, Satsuki..."

Momoi glances up as she lightly sips from her orange juice. She had wanted to watch the Seirin-Kaijo game to support both Kuroko and Kise, but Aomine had refused, saying that he was too tired to pay attention to anything. Eventually, she decided on watching a recording of the game, so she could keep an eye on Aomine. "Hmm?"

"Do you believe in destiny?"

It takes a few moment for the words to sink in, but when they do, she reflexively swallows the mouthful of orange juice, and the acidity burns her throat. Even as she bursts into a coughing fit, she launches herself forward, slapping the back of her hand onto Aomine's forehead. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't have a fever, idiot." Aomine slaps Momoi's hand away from his forehead, sighing and leaning back. "I know it's not like me to ask this though."

Momoi slowly sinks back into her position, staring silently at Aomine. After a couple beats of silence, she tentatively asks, "What do you mean?"

Aomine sighs again, tilting his chin down and closing his eyes. "Lately, I can't help but wonder...whether us five Generation of Miracles and Tetsu all gathering in the same era was sheer coincidence. I don't know if there's any meaning. But I've got this vague sort of feeling too." Aomine's eyes open, and a rests an elbow in the table, leaning a cheek on his fist. "How we were on the same team, and how we became rivals. How we all gathered for this tournament. And if there really is something called destiny out there..." He lightly taps a finger against the tabletop, eyes sliding away from Momoi's still figure in front of him and to the side, looking out of the window. "The fact that he showed up in front of us...one who was the same type as the Generation of Miracles but didn't become part of it. The last to awaken with the same talent as the Generation of Miracles. A 'miracle that isn't a Miracle,' so to speak, and...the true light that met the shadow of destiny."

Aomine falls silent, and neither of them speak for a long time. Finally he sighs, dropping his arm so that it hits the table with a thud and rattles the drinks. "Maa, whatever. That's pretty stupid."

Momoi shakes her head, pink hair flying around her. "No, Dai-chan, not stupid at all! You actually can think some pretty deep thoughts after all! I'll have to tell Tetsuya-chan. We've had a bet since second year of middle school, see, about who'd be the first to find out that you actually have a brain."

"Shut the fuck up, old hag!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> btw, this is the OFFICIAL reaching of 200k on this story. i'm so excited!!!


	43. Forty Third: Ultimatums

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kasamatsu is so fun to write. Why haven't I done this before???
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes

Kasamatsu fucking hates brats.

He especially hates brats who look more like supermodels than the angsty fifteen-year-olds they really are and act more like the five-year-old they really are than the twenty-year-old they look like.

He hates Kise Ryouta.

Everything about the Miracle from his annoyingly styled blonde hair to his clingy personality to his ridiculously unfair skill and talent in basketball annoys Kasamatsu. From the first moment he met the blonde while helping Coach scout Miracles for Kaijo from Teikou to the first practice they held with Kise officially in their ranks, Kasamatsu has understood that Kise Ryouta is a vapid, dense _idiot._

Except sometimes, Kasamatsu will be watching Kise from the sidelines, and he'll see the way his careless smile fades away when he thinks that nobody is watching him, and the way his eyes sharpen with an almost predatory glint, watching their opponents with a sharpness that belies his air-headed words, and the way his body stills, as if conserving all the energy he can possibly gather in his body in preparation for a move, an attack of some sort. And then Kasamatsu will realize that Kise is a vapid, dense, idiotic brat with a basketball instinct that turns him into a dangerous weapon.

And not for the first time, Kasamatsu will be grateful that Kise is on his team.

Right now, in the middle of all the noise of a cheering Seirin and a roaring crowd, Kise stands silently, hands curled into fists at his sides. Kasamatsu isn't sure which Kise is easier to deal with-the one who always laughs and never takes anything seriously, or the one who watches Kagami the way a hawk will a mouse. He still tries his best, even if he doesn't know the answer. "Change gears. We're on the offensive now." Kasamatsu resists the urge to flick his eyes towards Kise, not wanting to see the expression on his face. "We'll score right back at them!"

There's a moment's pause in which Kasamatsu's short legs have propelled him at least a meter or two away from Kise before he replies, "I know that!"

Kasamatsu barely manages to hear the conviction in his ace's voice, but all that really matters is that he knows it's there. He may have a love-hate relationship with the blonde nuisance, but not even that will stop the shiver that runs down his spine, knowing that Kise's burning gaze is directed at Kagami's back, and knowing that it's because of Kasamatsu that the gaze is there in the first place.

Kaijo is on the offense this time, and Kasamatsu starts with the ball, dribbling in place as his eyes dart around court, trying to figure out the best play to sneak past Seirin's tight defense. From the corner of his eyes, he sees Hayakawa come up behind Kagami in preparation for a screen. A moment later, Kise dashes past Kagami, who falls for the simple "block and dash" trick. Before Izuki can catch on, Kasamatsu passes the ball to the now free Kise, who jumps into the air for a basket. Kasamatsu scowls as Kagami slaps the ball away without it ever leaving Kise's hands.

Kiyoshi catches the fly away ball, shouting, "Nice, Kagami!" He throws it down the court for one of Seirin's signature fast breaks, shouting, "Blitz it!"

_Damnit, Kise has the absolute worst timing._

Kasamatsu tries his hardest to keep both an eye on Kise and Izuki, but he doesn't have any sort of fancy Eye bullshit, and besides, as much as he hates to admit it, even to himself in his own mind, he trusts Kise. Enough, at least, to be aware of his limits anyways.

But Kagami easily breaks past Kise's defense, and before he can recover, Kagami has already sunk a clean shot into the basket.

"It's in!"

"The ace match is totally in Kagami's favor!"

Kasamatsu sighs, glancing from Kagami to the scoreboard to Kise to Coach then back to Kise. The blonde ace's whites are larger than his irises, and Kasamatsu knows that his tunnel vision is focused entirely on Kagami. Kaijo's captain may not have the observational capabilities of Kuroko Tetsuya or Akashi Seijūrō, but he can still see how Kise is sweating more than he should be this early into the game, and how his breaths are coming harsher and sharper, and how he favors one foot over the other almost unconsciously.

The buzzer sounds, and Coach nods decisively at Kasamatsu when he glances back towards the bench.

_"Member change, black!"_

Kise's head jerks to the side, eyes wide and disbelieving. Coach's expression doesn't change. "Kise, I'm switching you out."

For a long moment, he doesn't say anything. Kasamatsu is about to become infinitely more worried about his ace's mental state when Kise suddenly stutters out, "W-wait...why me? If I leave now-"

"Kise," Kasamatsu snaps, stalking up to the stubborn nuisance. "Follow the Coach's orders." His eyes flicker down, and he knows the moment Kise follows his line of sight by the muted gasp. "Your foot's bothering you, right? It must be from that time against Fukuda." To be perfectly honest, Kasamatsu's pissed. It's easier to let Kise believe that the reason for his angry tone is the blonde's risky actions, but Kasamatsu's mostly furious with himself, for not noticing beforehand just how affected Kise had been by that piece of shit Haizaki Shougo.

"So you found me out..." Kise breathes, talking more to himself than anyone else. The despondent tone is immediately replaced by fierce determination as his head jerks up, sending strands of primped hair flying about his head. "But still-let me play! I can fight through this! I can't let us lose like this-"

Kasamatsu's lips thin, and then he's interrupting Kise with sharp words that he know will hurt. "If that's so, then you lost back when you ended up this way." Kise recoils, eyes widening and brows raising in shocked hurt. "I know all the overworking shows how much you want to win. It's still hard for me to accept that Haizaki got your injured leg too." _And that I didn't catch it earlier._ "But you can't use that as an excuse. A game involves everything, including stuff like that. It has nothing to do with the outcome."

Kise clenches his teeth, hands curling into fists by his sides. Kasamatsu isn't sure how much of what he said Kise truly understands, but he turns and slowly makes his way off court without further protest, though he can see how his muscles are trembling-not from the tremendous pressure that he's been forcing them through, but from the strain of keeping from screaming at Kasamatsu, or perhaps just punching him in the face. Nakamura pats his shoulder as he passes, but Kise doesn't acknowledge the second year at all.

Yoshitaka's voice sounds from behind Kasamatsu, neutral but with a hint of disapproval located deep within his words. "You said some harsh words to make him bow out."

Kasamatsu forces his body to relax, and for his voice not to sound defensive when he answers. "Not really. If it was so bad he'd never play again, Coach wouldn't have put him out from the start." _And I would've noticed sooner._ "I'm positive he'll be back." _Because I have faith in him._ _"But it's nothing but a joke if we can't do a thing as soon as we lose him." Because our team is worthy._ "All of you, show me what you've got."

"Yeah!"

When the game starts again, Seirin starts with the ball. Kuroko throws the ball in, the ball landing in Kagami's hands. Her eyes are as unreadable as ever, seemingly unaffected by Kise's plight. Maybe she is. Kasamatsu really can't tell with that girl.

As agreed upon in the little time they had to discuss strategy, Nakamura and Hayakawa immediately set upon double-teaming Kagami, who balks upon watching both of them blocking his every move.

"We won't let you past!" Nakamura snaps, his excitement at being on court showing in the focus of his eyes behind his glasses. With Kise's arrival to the team this year, second years like Nakamura who may be strong in some respects but hopelessly lost in others were pushed aside to make room for the Miracle. Kasamatsu just finds it a miracle that Nakamura is merely grateful for the opportunity to play in the Winter Cup as a sub instead of being bitter.

"Kagami! Toss it out!"

"Got it!"

Seirin's ace passes the ball over the heads of his blockers straight to Hyuuga, who barely holds into it for a second before throwing it past Yoshitaka. Kasamatsu thinks for a moment that Seirin's captain had panicked in the heat of the moment because he doesn't see any of Seirin's players in that area when Kuroko suddenly seems to pop into thin air, the ball bouncing in front of her as she dribbles towards the basket.

She stops before the free throw line, shifting the ball into an unorthodox shooting position, with her left hand holding the bottom of the ball, right hand keeping the ball in place. Kouji jumps up to block the Phantom Shot, but Kuroko shoots the ball up in that impossible angle without hesitiation. It disappears before their very eyes, even as it sinks into the net, scoring two more points for Seirin.

"It's in!"

"Two baskets in a row!"

Hayakawa half screams, half growls through gritted teeth, "Sorry! If only (I) had been a (lot) closer (to) him!"

Kasamatsu turns a dark glower on the shaking Hayakawa. "No, you're double-teaming Kagami! Are you an idiot?" Hayakawa doesn't look very appeased by the answer, and Kasamatsu hisses a sigh, frustration boiling under his skin. "First of all, if you were closer, you'd be more inclined to fall for that misd-whatever-"

It's like lightning. Kasamatsu's back straightens as the sudden thought strikes him, his mind racing a hundred kilometers per second. He runs through every memory he has of that shot, from every angle his mind could possibly produce. A furtive glance towards Kuroko shows that she hasn't seemed to notice his sudden epiphany, and he's very grateful that she hasn't.

_If I'm right...this'll be what Kaijo needs to take back control of this game!_

He takes a deep breath, lets it out. "I figured out that shot...why it disappears."

His teammates turn, eyes wide and jaws gaping. Yoshitaka blurts out what everyone must be thinking. "For real, Yukio?"

Kasamatsu nods with as much confidence as he could possibly feel in this situation, knowing that he's taking a serious gamble. His explanation seems too simple, too obvious for someone like Kuroko Tetsuya...but then again, it's the simplest things that are the hardest to understand sometimes. _Take Kise, for example._ "Yeah, but I don't have time to explain. For now, keep the formation as is. I be Kuroko will be benched at least once. But I'm not going to let her go without a price." He licks his lips, glancing towards the girl again. She stands under the net, back facing him. "I'll crush one of her weapons."

Kaijo starts with the ball again. Kasamatsu's blood is singing in his veins, and this time it isn't from agitation. His stomach is roiling with nerves, and he can feel his teammates' expectations weighing on his shoulders. He has to make this count. He has to be right.

Because as much as the outcome doesn't matter, Kasamatsu wants Kaijo to win this match against Seirin.

Kasamatsu pivots on a foot, shooting a fast pass to Hayakawa, who's in the air and releasing the ball before his guard can reach him. The ball bounces off the rim of the basket though, and Yoshitaka shouts, "Rebound!"

Kouji is being pushed back by Kiyoshi as he responds with a booming, "Yeah!"

With one smooth movement, Kouji manages to spin around Kiyoshi's bulk, jumping up before Seirin's center can push him back again. He grabs the rebound from the air and landing. "Nice (re)bound!"

"Kouji! Outside!" Kouji turns, passing straight to Yoshitaka before either Kiyoshi or Hyuuga can respond. Yoshitaka shoots the ball, which hits the rim before bouncing in, scoring for Kaijo.

"That went in!"

"Even without Kise, Kaijo's not falling behind!"

Kasamatsu grins savagely. _Damn right. We were here before Kise even became a Miracle. Don't forget that._ Wiping at the sweat dripping down the side of his face with the back of his hand, he gets into position, making sure to stay farther back than he usually does. As the game starts again, he can see Izuki trying to think out the possibilities of Kasamatsu's seemingly spontaneous choice to guard as far away as possible.

Kasamatsu feels a slight draft stirring behind him, and he doesn't even have to look to know that Kuroko is there, waiting for the ball. Izuki passes to Kuroko, and out of the corner of his eye, he can see her fall into that familiar position. That's his cue.

He darts in front of her, staying only an arm's length away from her. She's already in the air, and it's too late for her to quickly change directions-she doesn't have the strength or the hand's breadth for Kiyoshi's Right of Postponement. Kasamatsu reaches up, feigning an attempt at jumping for the ball before pulling back. At this distance, he can see the way Kruoko's eyes widen-just slightly, but more expression than he's ever seen on her face before. It solidifies his uncertainty, and he can feel his nerves transform into adrenaline.

From this point of view, he can perfectly see the slow moving low ball Kuroko practically lobs from her chest. He can't believe how simple the trick is-just alter your perception of the ball, and it's easily visible. "I can see it all."

He jumps up and slams the ball out of the air. It bounces out of bounds as the stadium roars at the sudden turn of events.

Kuroko's seemingly unbeatable Phantom Shot has just been sealed.

"He stopped it!"

"Following Kise's lead, Kasamatsu does it too!"

Kasamatsu grins, throwing a fist up in an uncharacteristic show of triumph. His team surrounds him in a flash, cheering and laughing. The buzzer sounds in the midst of a handful of back claps and high fives.

_"Member change, white!"_

Kasamatsu peeks in between the gaps of his players, watching as Kuroko slowly walks off court, chin lifted and back straight. Yet despite the forced dignity of her posture, there;s no denying the air of defeat as she slowly passes Kagami and her sub, Seirin's number eight.

Kagami pauses in step, doesn't glance back as he calls her name. "Tetsuya."

Kasamatsu's teammates shift, and his view of the two first years is blocked for a moment. They press in a little closer, and he's unable to hear the exchange. When another space opens up for Kasamatsu to look through, Kuroko is already at the bench, facing her teammates.

Turning his face away, he shrugs off the slight discomfort he feels upon remembering her stiff stride. Girl or no, she's still an opponent. He had set out to destroy one of her moves, and he did so. There are no regrets.

Kagami starts with the ball, the double-team still on him. Despite having just been dealt a psychological blow, Seirin's ace doesn't look any worse for wear. In fact, he looks more determined than ever. With a smooth ease that boggles Kasamatsu, he slips in between Nakamura and Hayakawa, driving past the double-team meant to stop his drive. Within seconds of watching Kasamatsu shut down Kuroko's Phantom Shot, Kagami has won those points, dunking right over Kouji's block.

As the ball bounces onto the ground, Kagami turns to face Izuki. In a loud voice, as if intentionally trying to provoke Kaijo, he announces, "Hand the ball to me anytime. Right now, I don't feel like I'm going to lose."

And Kasamatsu's most pissed about that statement because the red-haired ace is _right._ Kagami breaks past the double-team again, and in a gravity-defying move manages to maneuver around Kouji's body and switch the ball to his left hand, tossing the ball into the basket _over his shoulder_.

He does all of that _in the fucking air._

Yoshitaka manages to grab a failed pass to Hyuuga, and Kasamatsu shouts, "A three! Shoot it!"

The ball is at its peak when Kagami suddenly manages to one touch it, disrupting its path and forcing it up and out. Izuki immediately grabs the fly away ball and passes it to Kagami, who's already zipping back down court to Seirin's basket. Kouji jumps in preparation to stop Kagami's monstrous dunk, but whether he would've been able to block Kagami will forever be unknown because in that split second between jumping and dunking, Kagami somehow manages to pul his arm back and twist his wrist, passing it behind him straight into Kiyoshi's hands.

_When the fuck did he get the Right of Postponement?_

Kiyoshi scores a basket just as the buzzer sounds the end of the second quarter, tying the score at 44-44.

"This is where the second quarter ends!"

"It's a tie!"

Kasamatsu can feel his team's frustration just as acutely as he can feel his own. That brief taste of victory has turned into ash on his tongue, because of course fucking Kagami would find someway to avenge his teammate. "Time for the break. We're heading back!"

As Kaijo makes its way back to their changing room, Yoshitaka jogs up to walk right next to Kasamatsu. In a low voice, he murmurs, "Yukio, as much as I understand that you want to show that Kaijo is capable of winning without Kise, at the rate we're going, Seirin will win the match."

"Don't you think I know that?" Kasamatsu snaps back in an equally low voice, trying not to draw attention to their conversation. This is one he wouldn't like to have broadcasted in front of the entire basketball club. "But that's the Coach's decision, not mine. And besides, Kise's injuries could get worse if we put him in without thinking about the consequences. I'm not about to go and destroy a promising future just to win one game."

Yoshiaka falls silent, and Kasamatsu continues to conversation over with.

Except it isn't, because once they reach the lockers, Kise is in front of Coach, his whiny voice filling the entire space. "I'm begging you, Coach! Put me in! I'm the only one here who can stop Kagami! Am I wrong?"

Coach answers plainly and simply. "No. The last two minutes. I can't have you play before that."

Kise recoils slightly, eyes widening in shock and something that Kasamatsu can't identify. "But...How we are now..."

"Kise!" Kasamatsu's head jerks slightly in surprise at the last voice he thought he'd hear intervene. Yoshitaka is holding his hand up in a warning manner, telling Kise to stop.

"Moriyama-senpai, back me up here!" Kise practically begs, desperation leaking out of his entire body.

Kasamatsu can see the conflict warring over Yoshitaka's face, knows that his friend is trying his hardest to keep himself from doing just that. Sighing softly, Kasamatsu steps up, knowing that no one will be able to say it. "Kise."

"Senpai." Kise turns around, the hope in his eyes completely transparent.

Kasamatsu speaks in his customarily blunt way, knowing that there's no other way to get it through Kise's thick head. "We understand your side of the story. But the answer is no!"

Kise lurches forward, mouth immediately opening to protest. "Wait, why is that-"

"Shut up!" Kasamatsu snaps, glowering darkly at him. "Orders from your senpai, idiot! Don't you first years dare talk back! I don't care if you're a National level player or a complete wash out. We are doing what's best for _you_. Either accept that and sit on the bench quietly until the last two minutes of the game, or beat it. Kaijo has no use for players who can't take care of themselves."

Kise reels back, eyes blinking quickly in shock. Ignoring the tense atmosphere, Kasamatsu turns back to to his bench, where he picks up a towel and continues wiping off his sweat. Slowly, activity resumes as neither Kise nor Kasamatsu make another remark, though much more subdued than in previous games. There's nothing that Kasamatsu can really do, though, not right now.

Kaijo will turn it around in the second half. Kasamatsu truly believes in it.

* * *

_"You first years don't talk back to a senpai's orders!"_

_Kise's expression doesn't seem to change, yet Kasamatsu can practically feel the patronization saturating his every word and movement as the blonde slowly pushes himself up from crouching position, straightening into his full height more than a head higher than Kasamatsu. "I'm not good with stuffy things like that. You're important just because you were born a year or two earlier?" His yellow eyes glint down at Kasamatsu, a cruelly blank look that completely contrasts with his vapid behavior during his introduction. "Besides, I'm probably better at basketball than you are."_

_Kasanatsu refuses to back down. "We're important." Kise's eyes widen before narrowing, as if surprised and annoyed at the truth that Kasamatsu is speaking. "Good or bad aside, this is Kaijo High's basketball team. It's not because they were born first. The second and third years have been working hard and contributing that much longer than you have. I'm telling you to respect that fact. Whether or not you're a part of the Generation of Miracles doesn't matter. You're a Kaijo first year now, Kise Ryouta. And I'm Kasamatsu Yukio, the captain of the team. You got something to say about that?"_

_The two of them hadn't started off on the right foot, and maybe they were never meant to. But now Kasamatsu sees that Kise is more than a spoiled punk brat, and Kise respects that his teammates are all strong in their own way._

_It isn't perfect, but that's just how Kaijo works. None of them would have it any other way._


	44. Forty Fourth: Novices

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

The third quarter begins and Kuroko watches from the bench as the ball streaks back and forth across the court, exchanging hands from Seirin to Kaijo to Kaijo to Seiren and back again every second. Yet it's clear that Seirin is controlling the flow of the game-for every three-pointer made by Moriyama-san, Hyuuga-senpai sinks in two, for every pass, Mitobe-senpai is there to intercept, for every dunk, Kagami-kun returns twicefold.

She isn't necessarily brokenhearted that Kasamatsu-san has managed to stop and reveal the secrets of her Phantom Shot. It is a bit upsetting, especially right after Kise-kun managed to stop it with a mimicry of Seijūrō's Emperor Eye, but it was bound to happen anyways. Sooner than expected, maybe, but Kuroko is a master at deception, and one of her many victims is herself.

So she pushes down the bitter taste that lingers in her mouth and focuses her entire being on the last twenty minutes of a game that she's been anticipating since her first real team play with Kagami-kun, all those weeks ago.

At four minutes into the third quarter, the score is 48-52 in Seirin's favor.

"And it's in! We're on a scoring run!"

Kuroko shifts slightly to accommodate for Fukuda-kun's flailing arms. Hyuuga-senpai jumps too late, missing the ball by some centimeters. He must still not be very used to Moriyama-san's unorthodox way of shooting. The ball hits the metal juncture in between the basket and the backboard, almost falling over the side but catching itself on the rim, rolling around before tipping into the net.

Kaijo isn't giving up either.

In the next play, Izuki-senpai passes to Hyuuga-senpai, who makes as if to shoot a three-pointer, a taunting, "Back at you!" spilling from his lips. Moriyama-san jumps in a preemptive strike, and Hyuuga-senpai quickly changes direction, passing to Kiyoshi-senpai on the inside instead of making a three-pointer. Much like Moriyama-san, Kobori-san jumps to block Kiyoshi-senpai's assumed attempt at a basket, but with the same quick wit as Hyuuga-senpai, Kiyoshi-senpai shoots the ball past Kobori-san's right side, straight into Mitobe-senpai's hands. The droopy-eyed player makes an easy basket, his guard unable to reach him in time.

"Nice shot, Rinnosuke!" Koganei-senpai shouts, pumping a fist into the air.

"That combination play succeeded!" Kawahara-kun follows up, grinning so hard, his eyes close as his brows swoop downwards.

Kuroko's eyes are drawn to Kaijo's side of the court, where Kasamatsu-san bends down to pick up the basketball. She notes the almost reverent way his fingertips ghost across its surface before he grasps at her much more firmly, teeth gritted in annoyance and determination. "Keep going at this pace!"

Moriyama-san turns, and Kuroko strains her ears to hear his response, eyes trained on the back of his head. She's always been an eavesdropper, sometimes unintentional, mostly intentional. "Yukio, what...?"

"We'll turn this around." There's nothing in Kasamatsu-san's voice that will give room for doubt, as if he's gripping onto his hope with the skin of his teeth, arms, and legs.

"But what'll we do about Kaga(mi)?" Hayakawa-san chimes in, glancing towards Nakamura Shinya, a formidable defense player who would've been made a regular on his high school team had he not decided to go to Kaijo.

Nakamura-san pulls his glasses off his face, wiping the lens on his jersey. "I hate to say it, but he can't be stopped even with a double team..."

Kasamatsu-san loosens his jaw, eyes flickering towards Kaijo's bench. "I expected this when I first found out about Kise's foot. But what I didn't expect was that guy's ridiculous speed of growth. Right now, I can't think of any good tactic we can use on all five of Seirin's team." He tilts his chin up, eyes glinting from their position set deep into his face. There's nothing soft or gentle about the look on his face, but Kuroko can feel the morale of Kaijo's team rising as he resolutely states, "But we can score. If they score on us, we can't help that. But we'll make sure to score back! Even if it kills us, we're going to hang on!"

The aura around Kasamatsu-san has changed. The aura around Kaijo has changed. Even from the bench, Kuroko has to suppress a shiver as Kasamatsu-san dribbles slowly up to Izuki-senpai, every thump of the ball hitting the ground sending a shiver down her spine.

In that moment, Kasamatsu-san looks as much a member of the Generation of Miracles as Kise does.

Seirin is on edge. She can see the way izuki-senpai tenses up, eyes scanning Kasamatsu-san for something, anything that will give away his intentions, that will give Seirin the upper hand. Despite the lead they have, Seirin can't help but scramble to shore up their defenses, because Kaijo is the type of team with cards and tricks up their sleeves, ready to pull them out at any moment.

Then Kasamatsu-san drives forward, and Kuroko's sharp eyes can see the way Izuki-senpai flinches back at the speed that seems to have grown exponentially since Kasamatsu-san last attempted to break past his guard. Kasamatsu-san is so fast... _maybe, maybe even as fast as Aomine-kun._

Yet despite how fast Kasamatsu-san is, Izuki-senpai doesn't lose his nerve and strikes back, behind him, almost with a desperate jab that somehow manages to connect with the ball, forcing it out of Kasamatsu-san's hands and onto a path leading into Mitobe-senpai's hands.

Several things happen all at once.

"Senpai!" Kuroko can hear Kise-kun scream from his position on the bench. She doesn't have either the time or the eyes to look away from the court and towards him, but she can imagine that his mouth is gaped unattractively wide, practically falling off the seat his his knees bounce up and down despite his injured foot.

"Yukio!" Moriyama-san shouts a second later, a warning and a silent encouragement, both wrapped into one.

And Kasamatsu-san is yelling, a harsh sound that tears itself out of his throat as he throws himself forward, a blur as fast as Aomine-kun at a level just under the Zone. His body is parallel to the ground, one arm reaching down to brace himself from a sure to be painful impact, the other arm reaching out and slapping the ball in the air just before it lands in Mitobe-senpai's outstretched hands. It floats up, curving towards Kobori-san, Mitobe-senpai unable to grab for it as his instincts cause him to automatically step backward and farther away from the flying ball to avoid having his feet crushed by Kasamatsu-san's falling body. Kobori-san catches the ball, whirling without hesitation and jumping up to make a basket. Kiyoshi-senpai follows him into the air, just barely managing to nick the ball with a single finger, forcing it to bounce on the rim, hit the backward, and fall past the front of the rim without ever touching the net. Three separate, distinct, and very loud voices scream, "Rebound!" in unison.

Hayakawa-san is ready, planting his feet and tensing his muscles, forcing Kagami-kun to stay back as he jumps up into the air with an unintelligible scream, arm reaching high up into the air and slamming the ball into the basket, the rim digging into the flesh of his palm. The stadium explodes into sound as Kuroko settles back into her seat, taking slow, deep, calming breaths to return her slightly accelerated heartbeat back to normal.

"It's in!"

"Kinda forced, but they score!"

"Kaijo's willpower is amazing!"

Kasamatsu-san sneers at Hyuuga-senpai, who grits his teeth. All of the players are on edge, watching their captains, watching each other.

"Mada mada!" Kasamatsu-san snaps, emphasizing each syllable painfully. Kuroko is immediately reminded of Ryoma-chan, whose taunts on the tennis court are something or other along those lines. "We're Kaijo! Don't you dare belittle us!"

Hyuuga-senpai's jaw tightens before he turns around and walks away, head high and body forcefully relaxed.

In the next play, Kasamatsu-san passes the ball to Moriyama-san, who feints to the left. Kuroko's eyes narrow slightly as she watches Hyuuga-senpai's tired body sway slightly to his right, in the direction of Moiryama-san's fake. Immediately, Kaijo's shooting guard drives to the right, breaking past Hyuuga-senpai's guard. It takes a second for Seirin's captain to register the sudden disappearance of his mark before he jerks back in an _oh, shit_ moment. By the time he's turned around to catch up to Moriyama-san, the other is already settled in form, ready to launch himself into the air and release the ball. Through either black magic or sheer willpower, Hyuuga-senpai manages to dash in front of Moriyama-san and jump into the air, disrupting the path of the ball with the very tip of his finger. It hits the rim, circling around inside. There's a high chance that it'll sink in, but Kruoko knows better, and so does Hayakawa-san, whose instinct on when missed shots is rarely ever wrong. Kyioshi-senpai catches on a moment too late, hand centimeters away from grabbing the rebound when Hayakawa-san snatches it out from the air. Kagami-kun, even if he had realized that the ball wouldn't have gone in, is being carefully checked by Nakamura-san, who's managing to hold up well enough against Kagami-kun despite no longer double teaming him.

Hayakawa-san lands, shoulders curved over the ball as if to protect it. "Hayakawa!" He passes to Kobori-san, who goes back into the air for another shot at scoring. Kiyoshi-senpai is prepared this time, except this time, everything is worse. Kuroko can only watch helplessly as Kiyoshi-senpai accidentally bumps into Kobori-san just as he releases the ball. It arcs in the air before sinking into the basket as the whistle blows.

The ref's arms are raised, one angled upwards, the other pointing straight ahead. _"Defense! Pushing!"_ He lowers the arm angled upwards until it's level with the one pointing straight ahead, miming a push. _"White number seven! Basket counts! One shot!"_

With three minutes left in the third quarter, the small lead Seirin had before has diminished even more. The score is 57-59 in Seirin's favor, and Kaijo has a free throw now.

"All right!" Kobori-san shouts, pumping his fists.

"Well done, Kouji!" Moriyama-san calls back, smiling genuinely despite how tired he is.

Kiyoshi-senpai grits his teeth, turning his head to the side. Kuroko can see all the self-blame already piling up on top of his head. Out of all of them, she thinks, he's the one with the most self-imposed guilt.

"Kiyoshi Teppei." Kiyoshi-senpai's head jerks up ad Kobori-san pauses just behind him, facing forward and refusing to look at him. "You're a vastly better player than I am." Kiyoshi-senpai's jaw slackens slightly, his pinched expression from earlier smoothing out into bewilderment. "But I'm not going to lose!" Kuroko feels a bit of her own guilt-her own burden, her own weight. _And she's reminded of a time that seems like a forever ago, in a warm common room, sitting across from a golden-eyed tennis prodigy, and an exchange of promises._ "Because we're longing for a win much, much more than you guys." His eyes cut to the side, finally looking at Kiyoshi-senpai, who still looks surprised. "The strength of our desire is different! For us, this is a revenge match. You guys won once, so you're on the receiving end." _But does that invalidate our feelings?_ "Furthermore...you weren't here for the last game." Kiyoshi-senpai seems to draw further back, and Kuroko wants to be on court, to rest her hand on his shoulder (or his bicep, because that's the highest she can reach without having to really stretch and bruise her ego). "I can't possibly lose to someone who just wants to win."

The words seem to cut deep. They cut into Kuroko, whose resolve is as strong as any of their's, but for Kiyoshi-senpai, they're coated with poison, a special sort of toxin bred of his absence and his injury and all sorts of things that he blames on himself without just reason.

"Say something back, moron!" Hyuuga-senpai sneers, slapping Kiyohsi-senpai's back.

"Ow!" Kiyoshi-senpai yelps, arms twisting up behind him to grasp at the space in between his shoulder blades where Hyuuga-senpai had hit. "What was that for?"

Hyuuga-senpai glares at him, leaning forward and snapping, "Don't let him speak his mind at you while you stay quiet!"

Kiyoshi-senpai smiles slightly, more self-deprecating than amused, and he lowers his arms back to his sides. "Maa, I thought it sounded more than reasonable, so I couldn't help keeping silent." He shrugs slightly, that stupid, stupid smile still on his face. "I thought that must be why they're so strong."

Hyuuga-senpai's eyes narrow, and Kuroko swears that she can see the blood vessels in his cheeks popping as red floods through them. "Did you already forget about last night? Couldn't help it? Why're you accepting it, Iron Heart-san?"

Kyioshi-senpai turns, his smile widening and becoming more of a wincing cringe. "Sorry...so quit calling me that." He raises his hands in surrender, which only sets Kyuuga-senpai off more.

"You know, you haven't been active at all lately! It's on you, Uncrowned King!"

Kiyoshi-senpai's smile widens, and Kuroko can tell that he wants nothing more than to sink into the ground. She would too, in that situation. "Please quit that too."

Hyuuga-senpai plows right on, bowling over any and all of Kiyoshi-senpai's protests. "Where's the gusto you had against Murasakibara, Iron Heart?"

"I really, really don't like it-"

"Come on, get a grip, Iron Heart!"

"Stop it-"

"Iron Heart! Iron Heart! Iron Heart! Iron Heart!"

Kuroko stifles a chuckle as Coach grumbles murderous ramblings under her breath. The two are acting like two squabbling primary schoolers. Kyioshi-senpai's smile has transformed from cringe to _I-want-to-run-away_ to _this-is-really-starting-to-annoy-me_. He barely lasts the fourth encore of name calling before he snaps, lashing out and jabbing his index finger at Hyuuga-senpai's face. "I've been telling you for a while now! Even if it's you, I'll get pissed!" He's leaning forward, towering over Hyuuga-senpai, any sign of the cool, calm, and collected guy from before gone in the wind. "Don't call me that! Only an Iron Heart would!"

"That doesn't even make any sense, you moron!" Hyuuga-senpai screams back, standing up on his tip toes to get in Kiyoshi-senpai's face.

"And what about you? They're landing threes everywhere!"

"Shut up! I'm just getting started, idiot, which is something that _you_ have trouble doing!"

Coach heaves a large sigh, slapping her palm against her forehead as her grumblings transform from murderous to absolutely sinful. Kuroko hears quite a few creative methods of punishment (most of them including a castration of some form) before the grumblings are transformed into wordless sighs.

"W-Will they be alone?" Kagami-kun stammers out, pointing at the arguing pair.

Izuki-senpai smirks, turning around. "Leave them alone. They'll settle down, that married couple."

"I'm worse than Izuki?" Hyuuga-senpai roars. "Give me a break! I'd rather die, retard!"

When the team is finally getting into their positions due to the ref giving them multiple warnings to do so, Hyuuga-senpai looks constipated and Kiyoshi-senpai looks pissed off. "Are they seriously all right?" Kagami-kun mutters, more to himself than anyone else.

Izuki-senpai still answers, looking more relaxed than he had before. "It's totally fine...just concentrate on your own play. It's nothing unusual, really. They only started to grow up after you first years came, and even then, it wasn't all that much of an improvement. When they played last year, they were always like that."

"Well, isn't that bad?"

"They say the more you argue, the closer the friendship. They're the two pillars that supported the new Seirin team in the finals league. You can always count on them."

Izuki-senpai starts with the ball. He dribbles down the court, Kasmatsu-san forcing him to the edge of the court. He quickly passes to Hyuuga-senpai, who bounce passes it under Moriyama-san's arm and into Mitobe-senpai's hands. Nakamura-san manages to brush the shot Mitobe-senpai makes, causing the ball to bounce on the rim for a moment before dropping off the side. Kiyoshi-senpai grabs hold of the ball with a single hand, and the sound of the hand coming in contact with the ball is deafening, as if it were a physical representation of Kiyoshi-senpai's resolve. Still in the air, Kiyoshi-senpai reverses the position of the ball, dunking it over Kobori-san's hand.

"All right!"

"Crammed that one in!"

Kasamatsu-san starts with the ball, passing it to Moriyama-san. The moment Hyuuga-senpai steps up, Kuroko knows that he'll be blocking Moriyama's potential three-pointer this time. He waits a little longer this time, hitting the timing almost perfectly, managing to block the ball and send it past Moriyama-san.

"He blocked Moriyama's irregular shot!"

"Nice, Hyuuga!" Izuki-senpai calls as he grabs hold of the ball and begins dribbling back towards Seirin's basket.

"It's time to retaliate!"

Hyuuga-senpai suddenly makes a sharp turn, running back towards Kaijo's basket. Moriyama-san moves to follow him, but Kiyoshi-senpai is there to screen him. Hyuuga-senpai continues back to Seirin's basket, now free of a guard. Izuki-senpai passes to Hyuuga-senpai, who is immediately set upon by Kobori-san, but before Kaijo's center can get into position for blocking, Hyuuga-senpai has already shot the ball under his arm, into Kiyoshi-senpai's hands, who soars into the air before dunking the ball into the basket.

"That made it!"

As Seirin makes their ways back to their positions, Hyuuga-senpai jogs alongside Kiyoshi-senpai. Neither of them will look at each other.

"That was a nice pass, but..."

"That was a good screen, but..."

Their words overlap, and both of them fall silent again, refusing to say anything else.

"See?" Izuki-senpai laughs from behind them, and Kagmai-kun slowly blinks, eyes wide and blank, disbelieving of what he has seen and heard.

"They do make a good combo," is all he manages to say.

Seirin dominates the rest of the third quarter. Kaijo is unable to score any points during its offensive plays, and between Hyuuga-senpai, Kiyoshi-senpai, and Kagami-kun, Seirin racks up the points, widening the point gap.

At the end of the third quarter, the score is 58-67 in Seirin's favor. A nine-point lead.

Kuroko stands to the side with the rest of the reserve players as Kagmai-kun and the rest drop onto the bench, taking long draughts of water from their bottles. She feels content right now, despite the need and want thrumming in her blood. She'll be on court soon, she knows. They'll need her when Kise-kun finally comes out for Kaijo's last two minutes.

Those last two minutes will be the hardest two minutes of the entire game.

A disturbance in the crowd draws her attention away from her exhausted teammates to the stands. It only takes her a moment to pinpoint the source of the hushed whispers and awed murmurs. When she does, her mouth goes dry.

"H-Hey, over there..."

"Whoa...they do look strong!"

"The ones who made it to the finals earlier..."

"The strongest high school, Rakuzan High!"

Seijūrō leads his team down the steps of the bleachers to the bottom row, gracefully sitting in the middle seat of five that seem to have been reserved for them by the Rakuzan non-regulars spread out in the rows above.

"And the first year that leads that team, Akashi Seijūrō of the Generation of Miracles!"

Kuroko's cousin leans a bored face on his fist, heterochromatic eyes glinting down directly on Kuroko. His lips curl into a slight smile, a slight taunt. They haven't been on speaking terms since they met during the intermission of the Shutoku-Rakuzan game. The last time they haven't talked in more than a day was when they played Meiko...and she had been the one to break down that time, too emotionally drained and mentally broken to stay away from Seijūrō, who was the reason she was emotionally drained and mentally broken in the first place.

She won't be the first to break this time.

Kuroko slowly and deliberately turns her head away from him, knowing what the gesture means, knowing that Seijūrō knows that she knows what the gesture means to him, knowing that she's ready to deal with the consequences because now there are people who care for her as much as Seijūrō does.

The fourth quarter starts, and Kuroko is still sitting on the bench. Her blood is thrumming in anticipation, and it takes a lot of willpower to not fidget, because she doesn't want to give Seijūrō the satisfaction, and also because she knows that she'll be needing all of her energy for later.

A minute and ten seconds into the fourth quarter and the score is 58-69 in Seirin's favor. An eleven-point lead, and Kuroko hopes that they'll be able to widen the gap even more before Kise-kun comes in again.

"The fourth quarter momentum is our's too!"

"If we get a fifteen-point lead, we win!" Coach states, eyes riveted to the game playing out before them. "Of course, I can't say it's for sure. But at fifteen points, even with Perfect Copy, it's usually impossible to come back in two minutes." _In two minutes, but knowing Kise-kun, he'll find some way to lengthen that time as much as possible_. Her left wrist throbs. "The odds of holding the lead to the end drastically goes up. It'll be checkmate with five more points."

Kuroko takes a deep breath, closes her eyes. Opens them again.

"Coach."


	45. Forty Fifth: Speculations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for shorter chapter than usual
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Riko is a watcher. She's always been one, since the time she was five years old and could accurately analyze and interpret the symptoms of an ailing athlete. She watches her players on court, guiding them as much as possible, even as they ultimately decide for themselves.

She thinks, in part, that it's because she acts as neither a boy or a girl. Because she can understand complex strategies and tactics, can formulate them herself, yet have a complex when it comes to her breast size. And so she is shunned by both halves of a world, and finds a place for herself in which all she can do is watch.

To be fair, Riko quite likes this role. She doesn't feel nearly as much pressure as Junpei or Teppei. And besides, watchers see more things than players do.

It's her job, really.

Except sometimes, she wishes she were a player. She wishes she weren't a watcher. She wishes they took her as seriously as they do Kuroko-chan, as they do Echizen. She wishes that other teams looked at Seirin, looked at Seirin's coach, and realized that she's as much a part of the reason why Seirin has accomplished so much within the very short span of two years.

And when Kuroko-chan utters a soft, "Coach," that's so very firm and stubborn, an order more than a request, Riko feels that clawing envy again, one petty enough to make her feel guilt and shame pile deep in her gut simultaneously.

The blue-haired phantom is already pulling off her shirt, revealing the jersey underneath, and Riko stands. "We have a fifteen-point lead, we can wait a bit-"

The shirt barely clears Kuroko-chan's head before she answers (read: interrupts), lightly patting the top of her head in a search for stray hairs. "That's exactly why. In order to win against Kise-kun..." She doesn't finish the sentence, setting aside her shirt on the bench and casting a glance out onto court. "Now that they've been cornered, they have nothing to fear."

She walks resolutely onwards, the light throwing her back into shadow even as it illuminates her sky-blue hair.

And because Riko is a watcher and understands the way Kuroko-chan thinks and says things, she can do nothing except for trust the girl and call for a substitution change.

There're just some things that Riko can't predict, no matter how smart or experienced she is. Watching Kuroko-chan mirror Kise as they walk up to the table of referees is one of those things. The score is prominently displayed on a small scoreboard sitting on the table. With four minutes left in the entire game, the score is 62-77 in Seirin's favor, and Riko wants to believe _so_ bad that there's no way for Kaijo to catch up, even as Kise announces, "Substitution please."

She may not have anticipated an early sub, but she has enough common sense to acknowledge the foreboding chill running down her spine.

She keeps her eyes on the two ex-teammates. She can't see Kruoko-chan's face, but Kise's is wide open, and Kuroko-chan must've said something because his eyes widen and he looks visibly taken aback.

"Coach."

Startling just slightly, she looks away from the two to glance back at her team. Koganei-kun has his head tilted slightly to the side, reminiscent of a fluffy domestic house cat, even as he questions, "Isn't it early to put Kuroko in?"

Tsuchida-kun nods, jumping in. "The Phantom Shot has been beaten. And misdirection is pretty weak against Kaijo now, right?"

Riko frowns slightly, turning her head to watch the court once again. The background noise is like a distracting fly flitting around her head. She wonders how they can even hear each other. "I thought so too, but Kuroko-chan knows the Generation of Miracles' terror better than anyone."

_It's the last four minutes..._

The buzzer sounds, and Kuroko-chan and Kise both step up to the line of the court. Kruoko-chan plays with the edge of the sweatband on her left wrist. As Riko continues to watch, she drops her hands to her sides, the fingers falling into a natural curled position.

_Go get them!_

* * *

The air is tense and uncomfortable as the two make their ways on court, one with hair as bright as the sun, the other with hair as pale as the sky. Their colors should mesh perfectly, yet Riko can't help but think that they clash, more like oil on water than a sun set in a sky.

Then again, there's a certain beauty to things that just don't mix.

"There's such a point gap..." Koganei-kun mumbles, trying to sound as confident as possible while rubbing the palms of his sweaty hands on the legs of his pants. "They can't possibly catch up!"

Riko doesn't reply, despite her contrary thoughts. Despite the fact that Kaijo is cornered in the current situation, that uneasy feeling that has been plaguing Riko since she first saw Kise standing up to request a change in players has only intensified.

Kise walks straight past the rest of Seirin, heading directly towards Kagami-kun. It's a direct challenge, one that will possibly make Kise crash into Kagami-kun if the blonde doesn't slow down his steps. Kagami-kun turns to fully face Kise. Riko can just barely hear his loud voice. "Yo, I see you're finally back out. I've been waiting."

The red-haired ace's voice warbles slightly at the end, and he swallows, his eyes wide and shocked. Kise walks right past him without stopping, and Kuroko-chan's shoes squeak as she stops just in front of him. "Kagami-kun."

He doesn't even look at her, turning around to watch Kise's retreating back. "Yeah. We can't let our guard down for a moment."

"Hai. I feel that way as well." Kuroko-chan's hands come up to tighten her ponytail, brushing a few strands that had escaped behind her ear. "Until the game-ending buzzer is heard, you never know what'll happen."

And it's a testament to how much Riko has observed that she can detect the faintest hints of amusement in Kuroko-chan's monotonous and flat voice.

With the two new players on court, both Seirin and Kaijo have been reinvigorated. Movements are sharper as Kasamtsu passes to Kise, who has barely touched the ball before Kagami-kun is in front of him, blocking his path.

And despite how long Riko has been watching, how much she has trained her eye to catch these things, these infinitesimally small details and movements, not even her eyes can follow what happens within the next moment.

Between one blink of the eye and the next, Kagami-kun has been reduced from standing straight to falling onto his butt, his feet scrabbling for purchase on the ground while Kise drives past him at Aomine-level speed.

Teppei rushes to block Kise's dump, but even though he's perfectly in line, Kise manages to force the ball into the basket anyways.

_Incredible._

Kruoko-chan and Kagami-kun are quick to counter attack. She punches an Ignite Pass Kai up into Kagami-kun's waiting hands and with those monstrous legs of his, he jumps for a lane-up. Ksie shouldn't have been able to stop that ball.

Yet somehow, he does.

It's like seeing all five of the Miracles on court, except there's really only one, yet her mind is playing tricks on her, overlaying different colors and body structures over plain, pale Kise, and for someone who has spent her entire life analyzing body types, this is a very disorienting and unpleasant experience.

Kasamatsu picks up the ball before it bounces out of court, Seirin's players all too befuddled and overwhelmed to react accordingly. Riko's eyes widen when she sees Kise's body fall into an alarmingly familiar pose, unorthodox and unused by anyone on the basketball court except for-

Except for Kuroko Tetsuya.

Kise pulls his right arm back, driving it palm forward and savagely twisting his wrist into the surface of the ball. It may only be a copy of the real Ignite Pass Kai, but the amount of power packed into the punch (there's really nothing else to call such a violent thrust) is nothing to scoff at. The ball streaks past Seirin, blowing more of Kuroko-chan's hair out of its ponytail, and Riko's starting to wonder if they're intentionally trying to psychologically break the girl.

Somehow, Kobori manages to catch the bruising pass (most likely because Kise is unable to generate the same amount of force Kuroko-chan can through her full understanding of the technique), and he makes a quick basket untested.

Within thirty seconds of Kise stepping on court, the score is 66-77 in Seirin's favor. At this rate, if Kaijo continues to make baskets untested, they'll be able to surpass Seirin by the end of the game.

"We're going to win!" Riko's head jerks from the scoreboard towards the source of the noise. Kise's back is to her, but she can see the expression on Kagami-kun's face-focused, as if the ball is still in play. "I'm going to risk everything I have from here on!"

"To think that he managed to copy even Kruoko-chan..." Riko murmurs softly under her breath, less for the benefit of her players and more to help herself sort through the mental mess that is her brain.

"But he started off with Perfect Copy with four minutes left in the game?" Koganei-kun questions, clearly struggling to find a silver lining in the situation.

Tsuchida-kun nods in agreement. "He'll give his all right now?"

Riko closes her eyes, mind whirling with the possibilities. There aren't many, and the majority of them seem impossible, but the most logical of them is also the most illogical.

After all, the Generation of Miracles lives to break all the known rules of humankind.

"No...there _is_ one more possibility," Riko slowly acknowledges, nodding as if to reassure herself. Her eyes flicker open, and she can feel her brows pinching as she surveys the players on court. Kaijo feels less desperate and more in control than before, whereas Seirin is the complete opposite. "To make it last until the end of the game..." Her eyes focus on Kise, her mind tearing apart every physical aspect of his body, measuring and calculating and analyzing within the span of a couple of seconds. "Perfect Copy's overwhelming drain on stamina...for some reason, it seems lower than during the first half. At this pace, Kise could hold out...if so, overturning the game in Kaijo's favor is entirely plausible." Riko inhales sharply through her nose, noting the way Kise's legs shake and tremble under his weight. She wonders if Kuroko-chan notices, wonders what she's thinking right now. "It was naive to believe that we could stay ahead. As I thought...if we can't stop Kise's Perfect Copy, there's no way that we can win!"

Riko takes a deep breath, stands up and calls for a time out as the rest of Seirin sits in stunned silence. They need to talk about this, need to reconstruct their strategies. Most of all, she needs to assess their physical and mental states-Kuroko-chan, especially.

Seirin trudges over to the bench, none of them looking particularly downtrodden, none of them looking particularly enthused either. Riko crosses her arms, waiting until all the players have drinks in their hands and towels around their necks before stating, "Despite our earlier calculations of how long Perfect Copy could potentially last, I believe that Kise will be able to use it until the end of the game."

Izuki-kun's head jerks up slightly, water bottle forgotten in his hand. "The time limit for Kise's Perfect Copy is longer?"

Riko nods, bringing a hand up and nervously brushing her fingers along her chin and jaw. "The chances of that are very high. If that is the cast, I can't say that even the current lead will be able to keep us safe. If we don't do something right now, we'll be in serious trouble. We already are."

Faces turn down or up, looking at everything except Riko. She hadn't particularly expected any quick thinking from the basketball idiots, but she feels slightly hopeless. She can't think of anything that could possibly get them out of this mess.

"Umm...I think that there is something."

Riko's head jerks towards the soft voice, as does everyone else's. Kuroko-chan looks completely unaffected, by both the attention and Kise's previousy copy of her Ignite Pass Kai, her eyes as steady and determined as ever, if not more so. She lifts her chin slightly, nods firmly. "A way to stop Kise-kun."

And even before she says it, Riko believes that Seirin will win.

* * *

"I see," Izuki-senpai finally says, clenching his knees tightly. "It's difficult, but if timed right..."

"...We might be able to stop Kise," Teppei finishes.

There are several seconds of muted disbelief in response to Kuroko-chan's gutsy plan before Junpei pushes himself up, loudly exclaiming, "Okay!" Glancing around to make sure that he has everyone's attention, he balls his fist, lifting a hand up. "We absolutely can't afford to make mistakes from here on out! Everybody, focus!"

Riko blinks, then smiles softly. _He's changed. It's a good change._

The five players gather in a circle, and Riko as coach stands the closest to them, not bothering to pretend that she isn't eavesdropping.

"Even if the plan works, Kise isn't the entire Kaijo team," Junpei states, glancing from face to face. "Don't let your guards down till the game-ending buzzer! Be more cautious than ever with passes and assists. Don't miss easy shots! We'll hold on to our lead at any cost! Let's go, Seirin! Fight!"

"Yeah!"

The buzzer sounds, and the players make their way back onto court. Riko reclaims her spot, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she catalogues every single tell tale sign of fatigue in her players' bodies. Gutsy and bold and daring are all words to describe Kuroko-chan's plans, but they don't have any others, and there's a reason why she had been the Phantom Sixth _Woman_ of the Generation of Miracles. Her style couldn't be the only reason.

Kagami-kun starts with the ball, and Kise guards him within an inch of his life. Before Kagmai-kun can even make a move, Kise's hand has shot out, fingers driving the ball out of Kagami-kun's fingers. It bounces, and Hayakawa runs for it, but before he can even get past Kagami-kun, Kuroko-chan has already grabbed the ball, sending it in a quick backwards pass to Junpei, who shoots at the three-pointer line. Moriyama just barely manages to disrupt the path of the ball with his finger tips, causing the ball to bounce off the rim of the basket. Kobori pushes Teppei behind him, grabbing the ball with the advantage of position, and the ball is quickly transferred from Kaijo player to player until Kasamatsu is in possession of it, dribbling down court and passing to Kise next.

Their offensive play had failed, but what's most important now is happening here.

Kuroko-chan slides gracefully in front of Kise, the height difference in between the two almost comical if not for the fact that both of them were glaring (or rather, what constitutes as glaring for Kuroko-chan) at each other ferociously. Riko can feel the confusion of Kaijo and the spectators, clearly wondering at the intelligence of the idea of putting a tiny slip of a girl up against Kaijo's ace, a member of the Generation of Miracles.

Kise easily breaks past Kuroko-chan, who hadn't even been trying to put up a fight, and is immediately faced off against Kagami-kun. "It's the same thing as before, right?"

Kuroko-chan, in her classic deadpan tone of voice, replies, "Hai. It's different from last time."

Cutting in from the side, Izuki-kun's arm shoots out for an Eagle Spear. With the genius way Kruoko-chan had set up the triple-team, there's no way for Kise to turn back.

Except they hadn't factored in one thing.

Kise's grip on the ball shifts, and then he's spinning around. Using centrifugal force from the spin, he shoots a pass with the same velocity as Kuroko-chan's Ignite Pass through the gap in between Kagami-kun and Izuki-kun. Kasamatsu manages to grab the ball before it shoots out of bounds.

Ridiculous. This is absolutely _ridiculous._

Before the three of them can recover, Kise has ducked around them, reaching the area right in front of the basket and jumping into the air before Kagami-kun has fully turned around. Kasamatsu has already thrown the ball up high in preparation for an alley-oop.

"Kise!" Kagami-kun roars, jumping up from behind Kise and matching the blonde's apex height easily. His arm strains for the ball, but with a deft flick of his hand, Kise sends the ball into the basket.

"It's in! An alley-oop!"

"Kise is unstoppable!"

"All right!"

Kagami-kun lands on his butt with a heavy thump. Groaning, he pulls himself upright, bracing an arm against his knee. Kuroko-chan quickly rushes up to him. "Kagami-kun."

Kise pushes himself up from the ground, stalking past them. There's something about his voice that makes it easy for people to hear, even over the screams and cheer of an entire stadium, even past the ten meters or so that separate them. "No matter what you do, it's useless. Nobody can stop me right now."

Kuroko-chan's eyes widen and because Riko is a watcher and not a player, she sees something that nobody else does.

The trembling in her heart as it accelerates, not in fear, but in excitement.

(And maybe being a watcher isn't all that bad, because that just means that Riko sees beauty in things that nobody will give a second glance.)


	46. Forty Sixth: Subterfuge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some insight into Kuroko's background via Akashi...
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Akashi watches his cousin's game with his arm propped up on the arm rest in between him and Chihiro, knuckles lightly brushing this skin of his jaw. He doesn't really have an opinion on the proceedings, had never really planned to have one in the first place. he doesn't particularly care who he is matched against in the finals.

He will crush them anyways.

(And so maybe a small part of him is glad at how Ryouta is quickly turning the tides in his favor, if only to spare Akashi the pain of proving her ideals null and void.)

"Amazing!" Kotarou gasps, as child-like as ever. "Even a triple-team can't stop Kise now?"

Never looking away from the bobbing head of blue on court, Akashi replies monotonously, "Hopefully it's only that he's unstoppable."

Even without having to look at the blonde, Akashi can imagine the look on his face-shoulders pulled back, eyes slightly downturned, mouth crescent-shaped-like a little kicked puppy.

Akashi ignores Kotarou's sound of confusion along with the looks the other three are giving him. "The flow of the game is now completely in Ryouta's hands. If they don't do anything about this, they will find themselves swallowed up."

"Go, Kaijo!"

"It's Kaijo's comeback! They can do this!"

"Good going, Kaijo!"

It certainly won't help morale when the audience is cheering for the opponent.

Seirin's point guard, Izuki Shun, who seems a slightly above average but not particularly extraordinary player, starts with the ball, dribbling down court. In a poorly thought out move (maybe it hadn't been thought about in the first place?), he makes a pass intended for Seirin's captain, Hyuuga Junpei, to the side. The ball is easily intercepted, and Kaijo's shooting guard, Moriyama Yoshitaka passes the ball to Kaijo's captain, Kasamatsu Yukio, a moment after stealing the pass.

Yukio passes the ball to Ryouta, and Taiga is in front of the blonde a second later, staring him down with an intensity that would've shaken a normal player.

But Ryouta, loathe as Akashi is to admit at times, is no normal player, and when his feet do screech across the shining floor to stop, it is to prepare for a shot and not out of fear. Ryouta holds the ball in a distinct, unorthodox form, adjusted to fit his own preferences but still very clearly Tetsuya's Phantom Shot, with how his left hand cradles the bottom of the ball in a mirror of Tetsuya, and how his side and not his front faces the basket.

Taiga is already in the air when he finally notices, too late, what is going on. Akashi can clearly make out the expression on Taiga's face from this distance (his eyesight may not be as sharp as Tetsuya's or Ryoma's, but Rakuzan has saved front row seats for the regulars, and years of sharpening his observational skills have paid off in several senses).

Phantom Shot is different in Ryouta's hands, different in anyone's hands other than Tetsuya, but the flimsy execution is still enough. Ryouta seems to lift the ball more than shoot it up, but it still disappears before Akashi's very eyes, before Taiga's.

Reo swears quietly under his breath while Eikichi lets out a loud, ear-shattering whoop, and Kotarou babbles, "W-W-What was that? I thought you needed misd-misty-whatever that thing is to pull off that shot!"

"You do," Akashi replies calmly, knowing that Chihiro has no interest in explaining anything to the energetic yet dim blonde. "Ryouta merely recreated the irregular form of Tetsuya's Phantom Shot. By shooting a high-projectile shot like Midorima's using that form, he accelerated the launch of the ball and pushed it out of sight so quickly, it seemed to disappear."

"Huh...of course you'd figure it out," Kotarou mumbles somewhat sullenly, before perking up again, eyes excitedly following the descent of the ball from its ridiculously high arc shooting down to earth, sinking gracefully into the net.

There's a moment of stunned silence, from both the players on court and the people in the audience, all of them wondering what had just happened. Akashi's eyes are drawn once more to Tetsuya, who has frozen on court, her back facing him, but he's sure that her eyes are fixed on the back of Ryouta's head.

With less than three minutes in the game, the score is 70-77 in Tetsuya favor. With the mere addition of Ryouta to the game, the fifteen-point lead has been cut down to seven within approximately two minutes.

At this rate, Ryouta can win.

"Kaijo cut the lead down even more!"

"The ultimate comeback is happening!"

"Badass!"

"Go, Kaijo!"

"Ka-i-jo! Ka-i-jo! Ka-i-jo!"

The spectators are screaming themselves hoarse around Akashi. He has never witnessed this type of uproar since the first Finals match Teiko participated in, since before the Generation of Miracles established their dominance in the basketball circuits.

"Ka-i-jo! Ka-i-jo! Ka-i-jo!"

This isn't a good environment to play in. Tetsuya is the most likely the most professional on court, able to tune out the cheers and catcalls of a crowd at whim, but the rest of Seirin may not be the same. In fact, Akashi knows for certain, the rest of Seirin is _not_ the same. He can already see the way Taiga is grinding his teeth, annoyed at the noise, the way Shun grips the ball a little bit tighter in his hand, moves a little bit stiffer. Kiyoshi Teppei, the Iron Heart, looks almost as unaffected as Tetsuya, except he keeps glancing around at the blurred faces in the crowd, not looking for anyone in particular, but still looking.

"Ka-i-jo! Ka-i-jo! Ka-i-jo!"

The atmosphere is oppressive-to Seirin, at least. Shun passes the ball to Junpei, who should be able to sink a three-pointer easily, especially since Yoshitaka doesn't come close to touching the ball as Seirin's captain releases it in the air, but Akashi can see the way his nerves are controlling his body's movements, and the ball dips down before it reaches the basket, not even touching the rim. An air ball.

"Ka-i-jo! Ka-i-jo! Ka-i-jo!"

Teppei keeps his wits about him, straining for the ball and managing to slap an accurate pass in Tetsuya's direction. She grabs hold of it, keeping her guard from stealing it.

"Aw, man!"

"So close!"

"Kaijo couldn't get the ball!"

Tetsuya lets the criticism roll off her shoulders like water off a leaf, doesn't let it affect her. Nothing ever does, and Akashi commends her for her strength, but lately, that emotionless mask of her's has been crumbling. She's creating a hybrid style, a combination of her old and her safe basketball, either completely unaware of how such a risk leads to certain doom or not caring. And he condemns her for that, condemns her for changing so much when they separated. She had rebuffed him, rejected his offer to go to Rakuzan with him, to be partners.

 _"I will be your light_ ," he had told her. To this day, he doesn't understand why she chose Daiki over him. Why she chose the barbarian who didn't understand the gift he had until he regained it (not even when he lost her did he realize what he had done, and even now, Akashi knows that he doesn't have a full understanding).

 _I will be your light_ , and she had refused. Given him that small little smile of her's, the last he would see for a long time, one he has already forgotten, and refused.

Movement at Seirin's bench draws Akashi's attention, and his eyes are drawn there, where Seirin's coach, Aida Riko, stands and heads towards the table to call a time-out. It can't be a sub. All of Seirin's best players are on that court, although only two (three, if Akashi si being generous) are useful.

Even as she stops right next to the table and turns back to the game to check on the state of her players, Teppei, the Iron Heart, fumbles the ball, sending it bouncing directly into Kaijo's power forward's, Hayakawa Mitsuhiro's, path. Mitsuhiro hunches over the ball, jaw slightly slack, expression half surprised, half triumphant. He quickly passes to Yukio, who throws it down to Ryouta.

Taiga is following, nipping at Ryouta's heels like a rabid dog. Akashi wouldn't know, he has never entered the Zone, but he thinks, this looks a lot like the Zone.

Except it isn't. Akashi can see all the openings in Taiga's form-and there are many. Daiki in the Zone is too quick to have openings, and it is the same with Taiga. Except now, there are so many holes in his defense, it is like there's no defense in the first place. Ryouta easily drives past him, feet pounding on the ground and driving into the free-throw line, propelling his body up and up for a slam dunk that no high schooler should be able to perform (yet it has been, on multiple occasions).

And then Taiga is in the air, right behind him, looming over Ryouta's body despite having jumped off the ground seconds after he did. An infernal scream is erupting from his lips, incoherent and disturbing. It mingles with the cheers and stomps of the crowd though. Every foot striking the ground seems to send a jolt through Taiga's body, and Akashi knows that nothing good will come from this.

He's right (like always).

The ball slips out of Ryouta's hands as Taiga collides with the blonde, sending him falling forward as Taiga goes the opposite direction. The whistle blows and the crowd roars, both in indignation and approval.

_"Pushing! White, number ten! Free throws! Two shots!"_

Ryouta lands on the ground in a crouch, arm braced agains this thigh. Taiga lands heavily beside him on all fours, arms braced on the ground wide apart. Both of them are breathing heavily, heads bowed.

"Of course Too rough!"

"Was that intentional?"

The two stand up, though Ryouta straightens fully, wiping his face with the top of his jersey while Taiga slumps forward, arms hanging low. _He's sulking_ , Akashi thinks contemptuously, and it's a pretty funny image, he decides.

Akashi strains his ears without looking like he's straining to listen in on the conversation the two are having. The noise has diminished slightly, and he can just make out the last few sentences that Taiga speaks.

"...the only times we could be fated to lose are in fictional stories." His red head lifts sharply, and Ryouta moves back-not a flinch, but a startled motion anyways. "This is our drama! We decide what the plot will be!"

Chihiro snorts and speaks the first words he has said since they first showed up at the stadium. "How pretentious."

Akashi feels his lips curling up into a smirk but otherwise doesn't reply.

Seirin seems to be having an impromptu meeting on the court. He can't hear them since the noise level has increased again, but from body language, it seems that all of them are teasing Taiga, and even Tetsuya has joined in (what is Akashi saying, _of course_ Tetsuya would join in-she probably started it).

The buzzer sounds. The clock freezes at less than two minutes left in the game, with the score frozen at 70-77 in Tetsuya's favor. Faced against any other opponent, Tetsuya would have no problem. Less than two minutes to keep a seven-point lead? Teiko-era Kuroko Tetsuya would never have let that fifteen-point gap slip in the first place.

But even Akashi has to acknowledge that now she's playing against an evolved Kise Ryouta-a Kise Ryouta who can play the way Akashi can, the way Daiki and Shintarou and Atsushi and Tetsuya herself can.

And that type of Kise Ryouta could threaten a seven-point gap with less than two minutes in the game.

But not always destroy.

_"Time out, Seirin!"_

"What do you think Seirin's going to do? Ne, Akashi!" Kotarou whines from his position safely behind Reo, wriggling in his seat. "Are we going to be playing against Kise in the Finals?"

"Not necessarily," Akashi replies, looking away from Tetsuya's head to glance at Kotarou. "If Tetsuya has learned anything from me, she'll know that the best way to combat Ryouta's Perfect Copy is to predict who he'll be copying."

Kotarou tilts his head to the side, a clearly questioning look on his face. "Predict who he'll be copying?"

Akashi looks away again, down to where Tetsuya sits in the middle of Seirin's basketball players. None of them look away from her as she speaks. That has always been something she wanted, ever since she first met him and looked so surprised when he found her of his own accord and introduced himself to her with the prim and proper manners and Akashi heir is taught since birth. Acknowledgement, not even of her skills and her intelligence, but merely her presence, her existence. "Perhaps it is better to say 'induce' rather than 'predict.' After all, that is what they must do. That's the only way for Seirin to stop Ryouta in his current state. In order to use misdirection, you need skill, but you also must be able to read others' gestures and habits. Tetsuya has been an expert in that, since long before she learned misdirection." He remembers a small, blue-haired little girl sitting in the corner of the room, a ruler tied to her spine, blank blue eyes sparkling with intelligence observing everything and anything presented before her. He remembers not knowing that it had been made of cedar wood, something she is deathly allergic too, and not knowing about the rashes and near asphyxiation that had occurred until his father drove him to the hospital and dropped him off in the reception area with a fruit basket and a papyrus card upon which the only words were the ones printed by the company who produced them. "Thus, Tetsuya has a small chance, as she routinely trains by observing people in everyday life. By seeing through Ryouta's play style and habits to deduce his next play, Tetsuya can foresee Ryouta's next move. However, in basketball, the number of choices are as numerous as the stars depending on the situation. It will be a Herculean task, even for Tetsuya, to make it come to fruition with less than two minutes left in the game."

And knowing Tetsuya, she will have figured all this out and planned accordingly.

As the time-out slowly comes to an end, all of Seirin stands up. The players wrap their arms around each other, bending their heads close together, while the benchwarmers stand around the outside of the inner circle, resting hands on the backs of the players.

"Let's go! There's still a chance to win! All of you, don't give up till the end! Seirin...FIGHT!"

"Yeah!"

Their screams echo throughout the stadium, and Kotarou and Eikichi are reduced to tears under the force of their snickers, but Akashi is paying more attention to the reactions of the audience that had previously been condemning Seirin.

"Wow, what spirit..."

"I can't believe how enthusiastic they are."

"So loud..."

The buzzer sounds as the players situate themselves for the penalty throws. Ryouta stands at the free throw line, slowly bouncing the ball. Tetsuya stands several paces behind him, arms loose by her sides, merely observing. It is what she does best, after all.

Ryouta makes both baskets, though the second shot is very lose to bouncing off the rim. Slacking off, Akashi thinks, and his mind, by instinct, sets off building a training menu for Ryouta before he quickly remembers himself and dismisses the numbers and statistics.

"Whoa! Both went in!"

Ryouta pumps his fist in the air as Yukio comes up behind him and slaps his head, throwing an arm around his shoulders.

"They're totally within reach now!"

The ball is thrown in, as expected, to Taiga. With Tetsu relegated to merely observing, they'll have to draw out the entire range of Ryouta's plays out of him. The pressure is weighing just as heavily on Taiga as it is on Tetsu.

With a full speed drive meant to overcome Ryouta's imitation of Akashi's Emperor Eye, Taiga manages to break past Ryouta for a moment, easily spinning around Yoshitaka's attempt at blocking his path. With a burst of Daiki's inhumane speed, Ryouta has blurred past Yoshitaka and reached Taiga again. Taiga slams his feet into the ground, screeching to a halt. The haze generated from such sudden accelerations and decelerations has barely faded before Taiga whirls around Ryouta, jumping up in the air to make a shot. The blonde follows diagonally, this time using Atsushi's block to tip the ball out of the air and into Mitsuhiro's hands. He immediately passes the ball back to Ryouta, who dribbles down court, followed by Taiga the entire way.

The tension in the air is palpable. Unlike Tetsuya, who's thinking is silent, Taiga's thinking is loud and obnoxious-just like him. Akashi can practically hear his racing thoughts, attempting to puzzle out Ryouta's next move. The blonde begins to quickly bounce the ball trickily between, through, and around his legs, beginning the process of disorienting and ankle-breaking Taiga. The red-haired ace just barely manages to brace his feet against the ground, keeping himself from falling. Before Ryouta can fully complete the move, he suddenly switches tactics, bending his knees and launching himself up into the air, a slow ascent primed for a high-projectile three.

Tetsuya is losing precious time to observe and analyze as Ryouta wastes time in the air. Taiga jumps up, ready to block when Ryouta suddenly shoots a pass to the side, straight past Shun's head and into Yoshitaka's hands. The shooting guard's eyes squeeze reflexively-he clearly hadn't been expecting the sudden pass.

By the time Taiga lands on the ground again, Ryouta is already on the inside, and Yoshitaka passes the ball back to him.

Junpei and Teppei move forward to block Ryouta, more out of desperation than any true belief of being able to stop him. With a smoothness that deceives their very eyes, Ryouta bounces the ball up in between them, easily cutting in between.

"A one-man alley-oop!"

Ryouta dunks the ball before Junpei has even turned around.

Seirin starts with the ball, quickly exchanging hands before landing in Taiga's. He jumps for a block, but Ryouta's already there, having easily caught up with Seirin's fast break. Ryouta's wrist flicks, slamming the ball out of Taiga's hand. It hits the edge of the backboard, bouncing high on the ground and heading out of bounds.

Junpei dives for the ball as it begins its slow descent to touch the area past the line of the court. He manages to curve his hand around it, sending it back and miraculously hitting Yoshitaka's knee, which causes the ball to go out of bounds once more, but this time it's Seirin's ball.

Junpei crashes onto the ground, hitting Seirin's benchwarmers' legs and feet. He slowly stands up, shaking his head like he's a dog. Tetsuya approaches him, lifting a finger and pointing at his face. They exchange words, and when Tetsuya finally turns around again, her eyes are blazing.

"Seirin's giving their all too..."

"Amazing..."

"Seirin don't lose either! Go for it!"

"Seirin! Seirin! Seirin!"

"Kaijo! Kaijo! Kaijo!"

Fickle is the nature of human. Akashi can't really complain-he's based many a great strategy on that same capriciousness, that same unpredictability. Still, the atmosphere has changed.

And as the game progresses, both sides are fighting tooth and nail, rabid dogs over a pure white bone. All except for Tetsuya, who stands on court but off to the side, away from the action, watching with those same intelligent eyes that had fascinated Akashi so much long, long ago (and they still do).

Eventually, with forty seconds left int he game, the score reaches 78-77 in Ryouta's favor. The tides are turned, and Ryouta now holds a tenuous lead.

"It's in!"

"Kaijo finally grabs the lead!"

They're celebrating as if it's the end of the game already. As if they've won. And Seirin is slouching and wiping sweat off their faces, as if they've lost. As if there aren't still forty seconds and counting left on the scoreboard. As if they don't have a miracle worker in their midsts, watching and observing, slowly weaving an ingenious strategy piece by piece.

(Okay, so maybe Akashi cares a little bit more about the outcome of this game than he would care to admit.)

"For Seirin, their next possession is the last chance to observe Ryouta's play style," he remarks boredly, needing something to distract him from the unrest stirring under his skin. He hates this feeling. "Whether or not they succeed offensively, it's certain Kaijo will have one possession left. If Tetsuya cannot find an answer now, it will mean defeat for Seirin."

"You give her a lot of credit," Reo observes. Out of the corner of his eyes, Akashi can see the way he gives him this sort of dirty smirk, one that belongs on Daiki's face more than it does on Reo's. "Is there something that you need to tell us, Sei-chan?"

"Nothing that concerns you," Akashi replies cooly, watching as the buzzer sounds, signaling a time-out. Tetsuya and the rest of Seirin make their ways off court. Despite not having played much in the past thirty or so seconds, Tetsuya is breathing heavily. She drops onto the bench, accepting the cool touch of the ice pack to her neck without much fuss.

Reo scoffs but otherwise doesn't push.

Whent he buzzer sounds once again for players to move onto court, Seirin stands as one. There is no group huddle, no roaring shout that echoes throughout the spacious area. Instead, the fan out behind Junpei, moving piercing as an arrow onto court. Akashi can see the grim set of their faces, lips downward slashes under eyes full of determination.

"They look like someone's killed their dogs," Kotarou observes eloquently, and he and Eikichi fall into braying laughter.

Seirin's players seem to have been reinvigorated. Their movements are sharper, smoother, no longer clumsy and awkward. Jumpei throws the ball in to Shun. Feet pound against the ground as Seirin rushes at the Kaijo players in unison, run and gun style.

Reo leans forward beside Akashi. "What are they thinking? What's needed no isn't spirit or momentum. This looks like they're being reckless."

Akashi's lips thin. _Seirin seems to excel at that._

Shun throws the ball with two hands over Yukio's head, and Teppei manages to snatch it from the air, guarding it from Kaijo's center, Kobori Kouji. Teppei feints a pass towards Taiga, and Kouji follows, only to stumble off balance as Teppei pulls back, turning around to toss the ball into the basket. Kouji catches himself in time, jumping into the air fast enough to be able to block the attempt when Teppei's wrist suddenly rotates. _Right of Postponement._ Seirin's center passes the ball parallel to the Kaijo players, straight into Junpei's hands.

Yoshitaka scrambles to defend Junpei, jumping into the air to stop the three as Junpei falls into position. Akashi can't see his body behind Yoshitaka's, but he can see when Junpei dribbles around Yoshitaka's legs, running towards the basket. Ryouta is there immediately with a burst of Daiki's acceleration.

There's no doubt in anyone's mind that Ryouta will be able to knock the ball out of Junpei's hand-Seirin's captain is unable to stop his movement, and he doesn't have the strength to quickly change the direction of the ball the way Teppei could. Except Akashi, whose attention is perpetually split between what is happening on court and the blue head of his invisible cousin, can see Tetsuya move towards the two, purpose lightening her limbs.

She's figured it out. (It's about time.)

Ryouta's fignertips are centimeters away from the ball when Tetsuya's slender hand slips in between their bodies, pushing the ball out to the side where Taiga immediately picks it up, a wild grin lighting up his face. He wastes no time in shooting a basket, but Ryouta whirls and jumps, disrupting the path of the ball with a single finger. Whether the ball would've gone into the basket with or without the touch will never be known (though Akashi is very close to certain that it would not have), but the ball still sinks into the basket.

"All right!"

"Yeah!"

"We did it! We flipped the game around!"

With less than thirty seconds in the game, the score is 78-79 back in Tetsuya's favor.

Yoshitaka starts with the ball. Akashi is slightly taken aback when Seirin's players immediately regress to man-to-man defense-not so taken aback when Tetsuya and Taiga appear to have switched places. The difference in height is almost comical, he notes, disregarding his own less than impressive height.

"Wow, what a defense!"

"Everyone in Seirin has so much spirit!"

Seirin's defense is tight, with every single one of them refusing to give an inch. The two opponents have spent fifteen seconds in a deadlock. The ball is traveling along the defense, unable to penetrate. Still, it moves closer and closer to Ryouta. Yukio manages to send it through an opening, passing it directly to the blonde ace. Tetsuya shoots forward, and Akashi can see some of her old speed rearing its head-fast, but not nearly as fast as Ryouta in this state.

Ryouta easily sidesteps her, sliding into Daiki's familiar speed like wearing a worn glove. Taiga rushes in from the side to block Ryouta. "Kise!"

Akashi's lips thin as Ryouta smoothly directs the ball around his body, a quick cutback that sends Taiga flailing. The red-haired ace just barely manages to hold onto his balance, moving back to intercept Ryouta again when he executes the same move again, moving around Taiga on the opposite side.

Two consecutive cutbacks. Akashi hates copycats.

Junpei and Teppei rush to block Ryouta's advancement, which doesn't slow down in the slightest. In fact, he speeds up. "This is the end!"

His feet slams into the ground, and he pivots muscles in his legs bunching in preparation to throw him into the air. Atsushi's Thor's Hammer.

While all eyes are focused on Ryouta, Akashi's are back on Tetsuya, whose profile is in clear view. He knows his cousin better than anyone. Not even Ryoma would be able to decipher the expression on her face-that teasing little half smile/smirk, full of mischief and humor.

"Looks like this is the end," Kotarou comments, throwing his arms behind his head and boredly staring up at the ceiling. "Damn, kinda anti-climactic, don't you think?"

"Not necessarily," Akashi replies, eyes following Tetsuya across the court.

"Huh?"

"She's noticed that Ryouta has two quirks," Akashi remarks, propping his head up on his fist again. "One is when something spontaneous and surprising occurs. Copying Daiki, which Ryouta is most comfortable with, is extremely likely. The other is that he subconsciously avoids using the same copy in succession. Just with those two quirks, even without having concrete data, Tetsuya's sure to be able to induce a certain play from Ryouta."

Reo hums, his mind racing through the past few seconds of intense movement. His eyes widen when he realizes. "When Tetsuya recklessly jumped for the ball, that was planned. She put him on the spot, and drew out Kise's copy of Aomine. And because he penetrated the inside, there's no way that he'll copy Midorima. Then Kagami blocked Kise, drawing out a copy of Sei-chan. Out of all the copies left..."

"Murasakibara's Thor's Hammer would be the best choice to ensure a basket!" Kotarou finishes excitedly, practically bouncing in his sea, his interest reignited. "Wow! Your girlfriend's really smart, Akashi!"

"She is _not_ my girlfriend," Akashi instantly snaps back, already filling his skin crawl at the idea of _anyone_ , much less _himself_ dating Tetsuya. 'And you would do well to remember that, Kotarou."

The hyperactive blonde squeaks, hiding behind Reo.

Several seconds have passed since Ryouta first began to warm up for Thor's Hammer. Junpei and Teppei have done nothing to steal the ball, and instead pen him in from either side. He's hesitating, Akashi knows, using his very well hidden brain cells.

But too late.

Shun is already coming in from the side, hand outstretched to Eagle Spear the ball out of Ryouta's hand. As he turns towards Shun, the ball vulnerable to a steal, Shun strikes, arm shooting out and jabbing the ball into the air. It slowly begins to move towards Teppei's outstretched hand. There's still a chance for Ryouta to reclaim the ball, but even if he goes for the ball, he won't be able to make the shot in.

Yet despite the odds that he _must_ be aware of, Ryouta pivots on his foot, jumping into the air. For a reason that Akashi simply can't fathom, he shoots the ball back, passing to a surprised Yukio, who just barely manages to catch the ball in his shock. Tetsuya hadn't anticipated this, despite all her preach of team play-Akashi can read the shock on her face, the surprise, and he's slightly disgusted to see pride and joy mixed in there as well.

Yukio makes the shot, all of Seirin too shocked to even attempt to block the ball.

And if Kaijo had been celebrating their certain win earlier, they're screaming themselves hoarse now, piling in around Yukio and Ryouta, slapping their backs with all of their strength. The spectators are screaming along with Kaiijo.

Kotarou sighs, all the excitement leaving him without any resistance. He slumps back in his seat, throwing his arms and legs out. With less than four seconds left in the game, the score is at 80-79 in Ryouta's favor. Eikichi remarks from his seat behind Reo, "Looks like it's really over this time."

Kotarou shrugs. "Guess we're playing Kaijo in the finals."

Akashi would agree in normal circumstances-no normal team would be able to come back in a situation like this. But Seirin is no normal team. Seirin has _Tetsuya_. Seirin has the girl who helped Akashi create the Emperor Eye archetype.

He won't cast bets on a winner until the very end.

Akashi's eyes sweep the court. Kaijo is still celebrating, and Seirin-Seirin should be crying. Seirin should be panicking, despairing over the end of their season. Except they aren't. Oh, they all look serious and focused, but none of them are acting as if this is the end.

A come back in less than four seconds. If anyone can do it, Tetsuya can.

And Kaijo is so distracted, heady with their supposed triumph, they don't notice Taiga streaking down court until Teppei has the ball in his hand, pulling his arm back to throw the ball in a fast fast break. He grabs the ball when he's nearly at the three-pointer line.

Reo jerks forward, eyes wide and mouth agape. Eikichi is hanging over the edge of the seat, his enormous shoulder pushing against Kotarou's head without any heed. "A perfect formation! Can it be?"

"Yes," Akashi confirms softly, re-evaluating Tetsuya's expression from before in light of these new developments. He should've known that she would've thought through every option. Would've planned for if Ryouta really had been infected by her idealistic notions of "team play" and "supporting each other." "This is what Tetsuya had truly planned for. Creating several seconds for the counterattack, then luring Ryouta underneath the basket in order to give Taiga a head start. Everything since the run and gun possession leads to this very moment. After all, Tetsuya isn't the type of give up a challenge."

Despite the head start of several seconds, Ryouta has overtaken Taiga, shooting out from behind him in order to block his path and keep him from scoring in the last four seconds of the game. "Kagami!"

Taiga doesn't slow down. Akashi can practically hear the emptiness in his head as he throws away all logical thought in favor of grabbing hold of instinct by its head. His foot slams onto the free-throw line, propelling him up into the air. His body curls into a form reminiscent of that of a volleyball spike, the ball gripped firmly in his hand. Ryouta follows him into the air, straining his entire body up and up to stop Taiga's basket at all costs.

Taiga didn't jump high enough. The ball is centimeters away from Ryouta's wrist-it'll be batted out of the air when Taiga releases it.

"Kagami-kun!"

Tetsuya is running up behind Taiga, hands out, blue eyes cool and calm despite the tense situation. An infinite amount of trust in Taiga's ability to pull a miracle pass out of his ass gleams nakedly on her face, and Akashi has never hated her, but he's very close to it as he watches her bare her soul to an audience of thousands.

And then Taiga is bending his wrist, Meteor Jamming the ball past Ryouta's arms and into the backboard. It bounces back, its trajectory perfectly lined up with Tetsuya's hands. And there's no one to stop her as her left hand cradles the ball, right hand punches out to shoot the ball into the air and into the basket a second after the buzzer sounds.

The stadium is silent.

The score on the board turns from 80-79 in Ryouta's favor to 80-81 in Tetsuya's favor.

Seirin's bench explodes into sound, and Tetsuya has just pounded the last nail in her coffin.

She stands silently, an island in a sea of sound. It isn't long before she's joined by the rest of Seirin's players. Akashi can't see her face from all of the shifting bodies surrounding her, but he won't doubt that it's glowing.

Akashi stands. He doesn't need to see what's sure to be a disaster-Kaijo players crying while Seirin tries to keep their radiant giddiness to themselves. "Let's go."

None of them say anything as they follow him out of the stands and out into the hallways.

For win or loss, Rakuzan will be playing against Seirin tomorrow.

(Akashi's secretly ecstatic.)

* * *

_To: Ryoma_

_From: Akashi_

_Where are you?_

* * *

_To:_ _Dick Who Will Be Stabbed In The Neck_

_From: Echizen_

_out with friends_

* * *

_To: Ryoma_

_From: Akashi_

_At the tennis courts?_

* * *

_To:_ _Dick Who Will Be Stabbed In The Neck_

_From: Echizen_

_none of your business_

* * *

_To: Ryoma_

_From: Akashi_

_Tetsuya and I will be playing against each other tomorrow._

* * *

_To:_ _Dick Who Will Be Stabbed In The Neck_

_From: Echizen_

_yeah, i know. what do you want me to do about it?_

* * *

_To: Ryoma_

_From: Akashi_

_I know you two are fighting over something, but please check on her. I believe she will need all the moral support she can get, especially tonight._

* * *

_To:_ _Dick Who Will Be Stabbed In The Neck_

_From: Echizen_

_wow, you give yourself a lot of credit_

* * *

_To: Ryoma_

_From: Akashi_

_Merely acting as a concerned cousin._

* * *

_To:_ _Dick Who Will Be Stabbed In The Neck_

_From: Echzien_

_go fuck yourself_


	47. Forty Seventh: Reciprocals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Echizen taps a furious rhythm out onto the table, the source of her ire sitting innocently next to her elbow, its glowing screen still displaying the message thread from Seijūrō. Contrary to what he had said, she and Tetsu aren't "fighting." They just haven't spoken since yesterday night.

_Have they gotten so close that not even seeing each other once within the span of twenty-four hours constitutes as "fighting?"_

Suke-senpai sips on the mug of hot tea that he had brewed earlier. His eyes are closed now. _Resting_ , she thinks, but it's hard to tell with him sometimes. Not that it really matters. She can practically see the concern radiating off of him, most of it related to the staccato beat of her fingers against his kitchen table.

Is she fighting Tetsu? Echizen has no idea. They haven't talked since she ran out of the blue-haired girl's apartment (nice, as nice as oyaji's house had once been), so it isn't like they've been able to exchange blows or scream insults at each other. But then again, fighting isn't just physical or verbal confrontation, is it?

Echizen doesn't feel very angry. Mostly, she's just tired. And hungry. But mainly tired. Not sleepy tired, but sick tired, sick tired as in "why should I even care anymore?"

Because she shouldn't. Ryoga didn't care. And look at how happy he is now. Fucking whoever he is now. And Nanako, too, who high-tailed it out of Tokyo as soon as possible. Who has a husband and a baby. The perfect family that Echizen isn't a part of.

And damn it, Echizen isn't bitter. Not at all.

Turning the phone over so that its screen faces the table, Echizen stands, the chair screeching across the floor. It's nearing twenty-one hundred, and Seijūrō had sent the text about an hour beforehand. She just...needed to think.

Picking up her empty mug, she brings it over to the sink, dropping it on top of a stack of plates. She feels as comfortable in the Fuji house as she does in her home-maybe even more so. There's no place forbidden to her here, even though going into the master bedroom would be a bit weird. Her phone buzzes, the vibration amplified by the table.

"Do you want me to check who it is?" Suke-senpai asks softly from behind Echizen.

She sighs, shaking her head and heading back to her seat. "It's probably just Seijūrō again."

He doesn't comment or otherwise acknowledge her words, and for that, Echizen is grateful.

Flipping her phone over, she notes that the notification is not, in fact, another plea for her to go and find Tetsu. The message itself is not even from Seijūrō-it's merely a reminder from Mutsi-buchou that with the Winter Cup ending tomorrow, winter break will also be ending this week. She turns her phone off, shoving it into the pocket of her jacket. Suke-senpai watches her moves in that particular way of his-the one that she has gotten used to, has come to even take comfort in since their first encounters with each other last year. She doesn't like the way he's been watching her recently (eyes open, focusing so much on every single little thing that she does, she feels like she's suffocating under the weight of his gaze), so it's a heady relief to feel his regular watchful but not overwhelming gaze on her. "I'm heading out."

He doesn't ask where. He doesn't ask with whom. A calm, "Be safe," is his only response, and Echizen thinks that today has been good for him as well.

She's taking off her slippers and pulling on her shoes when he calls after her, "I know that you're strong and you can take care of yourself, but if you ever need any help, you know that you can come to any of us. Even Seiichi."

Echizen nods even though he can't see her, shoving her hand into her pocket to keep the phone from falling out as she bends down and stretches the back of her shoe to force her foot in. "I do.. Thank you, Suke-senpai. Really...for everything."

She has to leave then. Her voice sounds too soft.

The door closes behind her, and the winter air bites at her with an acerbic sort of quality. All of her thicker jackets are in Rakuzan, and the sole winter coat she does have here is at home, where oyaji is certain to be at this time of night. She's managed to avoid him for the majority of this break-she doesn't want to run into him now.

She'd much rather brave the cold than confront her own father.

_Home. What is home?_

As she slowly makes her way out of Suke-senpai's neighborhood, she clicks on Tetsu's phone contact. She hadn't been able to get a picture of the blue-haired girl, who kept ducking at the last moment, but she had been able to set an adorable picture of Nigou sitting atop a nest of blue bed hair as Tetsu's profile. A larger version of the picture pops up onscreen as she calls Tetsu, not letting herself think about what she's doing.

 _Cold. Empty. Tired._ She's doing a very good job at not thinking.

The phone only rings two times before Tetsu picks up. Her voice, despite being as flat and monotonous as ever, seems almost hopeful to Echizen's ears as she greets, "Ryoma-chan."

Echizen swallows, her mouth suddenly very dry. _Cold. Empty. Tired._ Except other thoughts are flooding in right now, and she's very seriously entertaining hanging up right here and now. "Tetsu."

"Are you okay?" Concern has overpowered whatever hope Echizen may or may not have hallucinated in Tetsu's tone. Echizen has become more aware of the background noise-voices overlapping and the screeching of wheels on a track. Tetsu is on a train, probably coming back from her match. There's guilt in the heavy tiredness somewhere-guilt that Echizen hadn't watched either Seijūrō's or Tetsu's matches. But then she remembers today-tall, solid Take-senpai, excitable Akaya, and an electrifying match against the one boy she hasn't ever been able to play a complete set with-and she decides that maybe it was worth it.

Echizen doesn't answer, merely marching onward with a brusque, "Where are you?"

Tetsu is quiet again for a long time, but this time, Echizen can hear her muffled voice talking to someone else over the background noise. Glancing around, she quickly speeds up again, heart rate picking up as she finally notices how dark it is in between street lamps. "We're all heading to Kagami-kun's apartment. Please meet us there. I have...something to say."

Despite the somber atmosphere, Echzien can't help but smirk. "Quid pro quo again?"

She can hear the hidden laughter in Tetsu's voice as she replies, "How did you know? It's a sort of game between us, isn't it?"

Echizen shrugs, even though she can't see her. "Not really. I think...I think it's good for us."

This is the first time she'd acknowledged the fact aloud, and it's disturbingly easy.

Tetsu is silent once again. "Yeah."

"Yeah."

"I...Ryoma-chan, I'm sorry. What I did yesterday was out of line and quite frankly very rude. I had no right to pry sensitive information out of Akutsu-san, especially when he had been so insistent upon keeping it a secret."

Echizen bites her lip, thinking about Jin. Jin, who had been desperate enough to ask Suke-senpai for help. Jin, who tracked her down to Makoto's house. Jin, who left without a fight because he knew that she cared. _Cares_. "I should also be apologizing. Jin...I overreacted. I would've told you eventually. It just...hurt. A lot."

Her sentences are short and choppy. She's never been the most eloquent of people, even more so when the subject concerns her own thoughts and feelings. She doesn't like explaining herself. Explaining herself means revealing why certain things affect her, and revealing why certain things affect her means telling them what has happened to her.

No one should know that.

Echizen licks her lips, fingers tightening on her phone. "What's Kagami's address?"

Tetsu doesn't push further, instead rattling off a street, building number, and apartment number. _Kagami's house is on the nicer side of town_ , Echizen vaguely notes while inputting the address into her navigation app. _Just like Tetsu's, but less extravagant. Then again, she's related to Seijūrō. She's bound to have money.  
_

They say goodbye to each other before Echizen hangs up, holding her phone out in front of her for directions. Fortunately, Suke-senpai's house isn't all that far from the apartment complex Kagami lives in. It's only a ten minute walk.

Ten minutes have never felt so long as she dashes from pool of light to pool of light, never staying in one spot for longer than a second. She hasn't been out this late alone since...since a long, long time ago. And that long, long time ago is one that she doesn't want to think about when it's a moonless night and there are two consecutive broken streetlamps. She barely breathes as she zips through that one, moving as fast as she does on court.

But it's kind of hard not to think about that time, when all she can think about is large, large hands balled into fists. Her bruises throb, but in a good way, because they're not in the same place as the ones from before. Those have healed, those have faded and disappeared.

If only her memories can do the same.

She finally reaches the apartment complex ten minutes later. It's not far from the sports shop she goes to for grip tape or restringing over break. There aren't any good sports shops near Rakuzan that sell the professional equipment she's gotten used to. She could always order online, but she prefers being able to physically handle what she's going to buy before actually purchasing it. Maybe after meeting up with Tetsu and Seirin and any other strays they always seem to pick up along the way, she can check out the new releases. She hasn't seen the old woman who would always give her discounts since fall break. Apparently, her son is a first year at Seigaku right now. She had probably been hoping that Echizen would teach her son if she bribed her with discounts (and to be quite frank, that old woman had been right).

At the front lobby, the receptionist gives Echizen a suspicious glance before ignoring her in favor of whatever game he's playing on his phone. She ignores him as well and presses the up button, resisting the urge to shift on her feet. Fidgeting isn't a good habit, but the heavy silence is pressing down on her. Exiting out of the navigation app on her phone, she replies to Mitsu-buchou's text from earlier. The elevator dings just as she presses enter, and when her head lifts, her eyes meet those of a surprised Kagami Taiga.

The red-head blinks in surprise before grinning at Echizen. "Oh, hey, Echizen! Tetsuya told us that you'd be coming. I'm just heading down to the convenience store for some quick food. You can head up right now if you want."

Echizen swallows, glancing into the elevator. She imagines seeing Tetsu again. She can't think of anything past the arms that are sure to wind themselves around her shoulders. "You're buying food for a group of eleven, right?"

"Twelve, since you're here."

Echizen blinks before grinning. "Thanks, but I'm fine. Anyways, it'll be hard for you to carry all that food. I'll help you."

Kagami grins back, shrugging and heading past her. The elevator doors ding before slowly closing. "Sure, why not?"

Echizen is a couple steps behind Kagami as they walk out of the lobby (mainly because of his longer legs), but already the night feels much lighter and more comfortable than before. He fills the silence with small talk, most of it relating to the basketball matches that he doesn't seem to know that she missed, and even though she responds in simple monosyllables, he doesn't stop, doesn't let the rather one-sided conversation grow awkward. Then again, he must be used to this, considering that his partner is Tetsu.

Something he says as the convenience store comes into view catches Tetsu's attention. "Could you repeat that again?"

He pauses, clearly startled at her sudden interruption, but recovers quickly. "Uh, I just said that Tetsu told me she was going to talk about Teiko and what happened during that time."

Echizen's eyes narrow and her voice is sharper than she intended it to be when she demands, "Did she say what she was going to talk about?" Despite having worked tirelessly with Tetsu during the winter camp Seirin had held before the beginning of the Winter Cup, Echizen still doesn't know the origins of Tetsu's injuries-her eye and her wrist.

Kagami frowns, clearly thinking hard about it. They're stepping into the convenience store, pausing for a moment to soak up the warmth before moving onward. "Nothing in particular. Although, when she told the whole team that she had a story to tell them on the train, she looked specifically and Kiyoshi-senpai and said something about barriers." He shrugs, pausing by the packaged snacks and bending down to peruse the selections. "I don't know what that means, anyways."

Echizen frowns, moving past the aisle and heading straight to the refrigerators full of drinks on the other side of the story. The tea she had drunk at Suke-senpai's house has settled in her stomach, and despite the smell of sugar and stale salt (if that's even possible) that permeates the store, she isn't all that hungry.

It doesn't take her long to find the right drink, and she pulls a grape Ponta out of the fridge, adjusting her grip when her fingers practically burn with how cold the can is. In an uncharacteristically poetic moment, she finds herself comparing Tetsu to the can of grape Ponta-secrets that run hot and cold, as well as dangerously addictive.

Maybe it's the lack of sleep.

Kagami is still in the same aisle she had left him in when she wanders back to the other side of the store, but he has moved on from the pre-made onigiri to packaged bento boxes. She catches sight of one with rice shaped into a dog, and she picks it out, handing it to Kagami. He glances at the packaging and laughs, taking it and setting it atop the swaying stack already sitting in his arms. "She'll either love it or hate you for making her eat a dog."

Echizen smirks, fiddling with the metal tab of her drink. "I'll take my chances."

Kagami picks out meals for the rest of his teammates within the next few minutes. By then, Echizen has already bought her Ponta and is sipping it off to the side. She discovers that Kagami is an absolute mess, and not even an endearing mess. He doesn't carry a wallet on him, so he digs around in his jacket pocket, extracting hopelessly crumpled bills and loose change. It takes him so long to count out the yen, the cashier eventually takes over with an exasperated sigh, expertly sorting through the mess of coins and bills and cards before dropping the correct amount into the machine. She glares at Kagami the entire time he stuffs the leftover yen back into his pocket, possibly ripping a few bills in the process. Echizen steps in to grab a couple boxes, balancing them in one hand will she continues to sip from her drink. Kagami grabs a couple bags to drop the meals and drinks into. They stretch as he picks them up, threatening to tear.

"Let's go," Kagami announces extremely loudly, and Echizen barely manages to stifle a laugh as he strides out of the convenience store, not at all aware of the inconvenience he had caused the cashier. She heads back out at a more sedate pace, the boxes in her hand never once wobbling.

On the way back, she participates more in the conversation. Kagami seems especially interested in learning what the world of professional sports is like. Despite the fact that they play different sports, there are some aspects that remain the same, and Echizen isn't afraid to tell him, even though he whines and questions why something like sponsorships matter. It's the first time she's ever really talked about the business aspect of professional sports. Usually, only other tennis players ask her about what it was like playing in the US Open, and they only ever wanted to know what it was like facing off against Nadal.

It's kind of nice, not having to relate every single move she made in the fifth tiebreaker of the third set since Kagami's too much of a basketball obsessed idiot to understand anything she says about tennis technique.

The receptionist doesn't even look up when they walk into the lobby, laughing about a story Echizen had just told about a reporter who she punched in the neck because he wouldn't stop trying to get her to take off her pants to show him that she's actually a girl. The elevator hasn't moved away from the lobby, and the get in without having to wait. Kagami sets his bags down to press the button. Echizen swears that she hears the plastic sighing in relief.

As the elevator climbs, she decides that Kagami isn't as bad as she originally thought. Better than Aomine, anyways, the dick.

They reach his floor and Kagami gives up on trying to unlock the door, instead pressing the doorbell and waiting for someone to open it. After a minute during which Echizen can hear loud shouting and barking (Kagami pales dramatically at the sound), the door finally swings open.

One of the other first years stands there (Echizen doesn't remember his name, doesn't even know if she's ever been told his name in the first place). His eyes widen upon seeing her, and he suddenly bows, his upper body parallel to the ground. "Echizen-san! It is nice to meet you!"

Echizen blinks slowly, staring blankly at the head of short hair bowed before her. Kagami answers for her. "Kawahara, you're freaking her out." He shoulders past the first year, lifting the plastic bags and shouting victoriously, "I got the food!"

He's answered by loud cheers, and Echizen steps inside so the door can close, not wanting to wake the neighbors up with all the screaming. The first year, Kawaha, she thinks, follows nervously after her as she makes her way towards the noise.

When she steps into the little living room, she finds Seirin all sitting at a chabudai, legs crossed and on top of pillows. They've already torn through the plastic bags, grabbing bento boxes and breaking wooden chopsticks.

Tetsu catches sight of Echizen first, blue eyes lighting up when she looks up from the dog-shaped lump of rice. "Ryoma-chan! You made it!"

Her loud greeting catches the others' attention, and Aida grins at Echizen, waving at her with the chopsticks. "Hi there, Echizen! Did you run into Kagami on the way up?"

Echizen shakes her head, walking further into the room and sitting next to Tetsu. "I helped him buy the food. I picked out that one for you, Tetsu." She points at the dog rice, grinning at Nigou who perks his head up at the sight of the food. "Hi, Nigou. Remind me to bring Karupin some day."

"It looks disgusting," Tetsu replies bluntly, poking at the rice with the end of her chopsticks. Her hair is down today. It's much longer than Echzien's own, which as grown longer since the last time she cut it. She'll have to get the scissors out again soon. Tetsu's blue hair is really pretty. It hangs down past her chest, framing her sharp face rather nicely. Echizen still hasn't lost all of her baby fat yet. "Are you sure this is edible?"

"What nonsense," Echizen sniffs in a faux posh mien, waving her fingers in the air. "I found it in a convenience store, why would it _not_ be edible?"

Tetsu's lips quirk before she picks up a lump of rice, eyeing it dubiously. Throwing caution to the wind, she quickly eats it, chewing for a couple second sbefore swallowing. Her expression doesn't change, but she picks up another bunch of rice grains. Echizen takes that as her answer.

Seirin enjoys their convenience store bought dinner, laughing and joking and generally talking about everything except for basketball. Echizen finds the change in pace nice, even though the real reason for the meeting still lurks at the back of her mind. She's sure that it's haunting Tetsu's mind too, which is why the blue-haired girl takes longer than usual to eat her food.

It's nearing twenty-three hundred by the time all the boxes, broken plastic bags, and empty cans are cleared off the table. Tetsu sits calmly, the only thing giving away her nerves the way her fingers lightly rub against the side of her thighs, hidden from everyone except for Echizen and Kagami, who flank her on either side.

It doesn't take long for Seirin to remember the cause for their post-match gathering. The aggressive one in glasses brings up the topic first, glancing towards Tetsu. "Hey, Kuroko, you had something you wanted to tell us, right?"

Tetsu nods almost imperceptibly, her hair swaying with the movements of her head. "Yes...I did."

They wait for a moment to see if she'll follow up her statement with anything else. When she continues to stay silent, Kagami huffs in annoyance, leaning closer to her. "Tetsuya, tell us!"

Tetsu clasps her hands together, linking the fingers together. "I...It's a very long story."

"We have time," Aida replies gently, though the way her eyes flick towards the clock contradict her reassurance. "We'll listen to you, Kuroko-chan."

Echizen nods, leaning towards her and bumping her shoulder. "Quid pro quo, right?"

Tetsu's lips flicker upwards, and she bows her head slightly, hair sweeping over her shoulders to cover her face. She's never been a meek person (just unnoticeable), but right now, it's like she's purposefully trying to hide herself.

Ironically, she's more noticeable when she doesn't want to be seen.

Tetsu takes a deep breath, lets it out. "Seijūrō and I have known each other since we were both five years old. We began playing basketball when we were eight years old. I met Ogiwara Shigehiro when I was ten years old. I met the Generation of Miracles when I was thirteen years old." Her head lifts slightly, hair parting to reveal her face, eyes blank and remembering a distant, but not so distant, past. "I hated basketball when I was fourteen years old."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH LOOK IT'S ECHIZEN


	48. Forty Eighth: Verities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Tezuka should've expected this sooner or later. He had merely hoped it would happen later-or, most optimally, never.

But, of course, everything comes full circle, and Syuusuke is sitting across from him, Genichirou, and Keigo. Seiichi sits beside the close-eyed brunette, stirring his tea serenely, strangely-colored eyes watching all of their movements with a sharpness required of his style of tennis. Despite the warm ambience of the cafe they had all agreed to meet in, the air between them is thin and tense, as if it were a wire close to snapping.

The waiter comes by the silent table, setting down sandwiches and pastries that no one but Keigo will even touch. He leaves after a small nod, clearly disconcerted by the frigid tension in between the seated members.

Once the waiter is out of hearing range, Syuusuke finally speaks up. "None of you have been watching the Winter Cup matches."

To any casual observer, his words would seem casual, if a bit incredulous, but years of knowing Syuusuke (as a teammate, as an opponent) means that the four of them can hear the slight accusation, and the real meaning. _You've been ignoring Echizen-chan._

Keigo is the one who answers, disdainfully poking at a cake with his fork before lightly peeling off a thin layer. "We've been busy," he sniffs, eyeing Syuusuke over the tines of his fork. "I'm sure that the Winter Cup will run perfectly smoothly without our intervention."

In keeping with the theme of saying things without actually saying them (Tezuka's very good at this game), Atobe has just smoothly told Syuusuke, Echizen-chan _doesn't need us watching her every move._ An accusation in return-one that clearly touches a nerve with the way Syuusuke's eyelids flicker almost imperceptibly.

Tezuka is somewhat impressed. Keigo really _does_ have a brain buried somewhere deep inside his ego. Although, to be fair, Tezuka already knew that. He's been struggling with Akashi and Keigo in a three way battle at attaining top score at Rakuzan. At this rate, Tezuka doesn't even care about who the winner is as long as the incessant squabbling between the self-proclaimed king and obsessive narcissist stops soon. He'll even support Akashi, whose red and gold eyes send warning bells off in Tezuka's head, especially when overheard a couple boys in the tennis club whisper about how Akashi was born with red eyes.

Red eyes. Who even has red eyes?

Snakes. And Satan. But Tezuka's not about to mention that to either Akashi or Echizen-chan.

Syuusuke's hands are laid flat on the table in front of him. Tezuka thinks that maybe it's an intentional move to send a subliminal message that he means no deceit when everything about Syuusuke screams deceit. It's more likely that it's an intentional move on Syuusuke's part to keep himself from throttling Keigo-or anyone, really, because Tezuka's sure that the brunette is more than pissed at them right now.

To keep any unfortunate murder from occurring, Tezuka speaks up. He isn't particularly interested in the game, not when Syuusuke is burning cold like that. "Echizen-chan hasn't contacted any of us since the start of winter break," he reasons, "and as much as basketball is a fascinating sport, our main focus is tennis."

Syuusuke's lips thin, and Tezuka thinks for a moment (just a moment, but it was a crazy moment) that he's going to start yelling or crying or strangling Keijo or all three, simultaneously. Now, that'd be a sight to see. But instead, Syuusuke swallows and then he's answering, abandoning the game. "She ran away last night, and I don't know if she'll ever come back."

Tezuka's back straightens even more than it already is, and Genichirou sucks in a sharp, harsh breath from beside him. Renji leans forward slightly, and not even Seiichi can keep the smile on his face from freezing. "What do you mean?"

Syuusuke takes a deep breath, shakes his head. There's a small smile curling at his lips, most likely meant to look good-natured, though it looks more sardonic and self-berating. "Not literally-at least the second part. I mean...she was in a really bad place. And I knew that you could've helped her, Kunimitsu. But-"

"You didn't call," Tezuka replies flatly, and he's mad. Okay, not really. Maybe. Tezuka's only really been mad about one thing in his life, and being unable to hit a forehand properly because of his arm bordered more on despair than anger. He's maybe not really mad about the fact that Syuusuke is blaming them for his own mistakes, his own insecurities. But he's more concerned. Because Syuusuke never had mistakes, never had insecurities until Echizen-chan came along. And then he fell in love with her (romantically, platonically, it's all still the same because Tezuka is sure that she'll never love him the way Syuusuke loves her), and now he's blaming Tezuka for something he did wrong. "And all of us here know that it isn't my fault. Not mine, not Genichirou's, not Renji's, not Keigo's, not Seiichi's."

Syuusuke keeps his eyes closed, but in his mind's eye, Tezuka can imagine his eyelids flickering up, up and open, revealing-

Nothing. Because Tezuka knows that if Syuusuke were to open his eyes right now, they'd hold an expression that Tezuka would never recognize on Syuusuke.

After a long moment, Seiichi speaks up. His voice is soft as it always is, but now there's a certain edge to his words, as if he's threatening without really threatening. That seems to be a real theme among this group of people, Tezuka notes not for the first time, doing things without really doing them. "The Fuji Syuusuke I knew never would've tried to blame others for his own screw ups."

Tezuka thinks that this is the first time he's ever seen Syuusuke look so defeated. Not even after their tennis match had Syuusuke been so vulnerable. He hadn't realized the extent of Syuusuke's...bond...with Echizen-chan. "We played with Seigaku and Rikkaidai today. They really miss you."

Tezuka feels somewhat merciful and allows for the very obvious and not at all smooth change in subject. "Is that so? That's nice. Did Echizen-chan miss us too?"

Maybe not very merciful.

Syuusuke doesn't respond to the jab. "Kirihara told me that he invited all of us. I never heard about this."

Keigo sniffs again (snorting is too plebeian for him) and nibbles on the edge of a finger sandwich. "Is that what this meeting is about?" _Besides all the nonsense from before?_ "We were merely being conscious of the brat's newfound obsession with basketball, whatever strange thoughts are running through her head. Besides, we were busy."

"Busy," Syuusuke repeats, and it sounds like as close to a sneer as Syuusuke would ever reach. "Busy, you keep saying, but busy with what? School's almost over, and I know that you've been a workaholic and finished up all the large projects your father assigned you this year before winter break. I know all of your schedules as well as you know mine."

Seiichi sets his empty teacup down, raising a hand to flag down a waiter. His smile is intact as he replies, "The Fuji Syuusuke I knew would know without having to ask."

Syuusuke looks about ready to bite off someone's head as the waiter glides up to the table and begins to clear the nearly untouched plates.

* * *

"That was a bit harsh, wasn't it?" Renji remarks as he walks with Tezuka and Seiichi back to Tezuka's house. The two are staying the night considering that they live a long train ride away.

Seiichi hums softly under his breath, violet eyes never straying from the space in front of him. It's daunting how instinctually self-assured the blue-haired boy is. "Not harsh. Just true."

"Then harsh," Tezuka affirms, glancing at Seiichi out of the corners of his eyes. Seiichi smirks slightly.

"Lately, it seems like everything revolves around her," Renji states, more matter-of-fact than anything else. Not for the first time, Tezuka wonders how he manages to avoid running into people or trash cans or walls with his eyes permanently closed like that. Sadaharu had never even tried to give a convincing lie whenever Tezuka asked him about Renji's closed eyes. Syuusuke at least opened his eyes when he was serious or in danger or shocked. Renji's eyes were perpetually closed.

Seiichi laughs. "I think that she's just like that. Echizen Ryoma. Do you ever think, if she were a boy, she'd attract so many people to her?"

Tezuka huffs under his breath. If either of them think that it's a laugh, they'd both be wrong. "I think a boy Echizen Ryoma would be even more of a handful than the girl."

"She's practically a boy as it is anyways," Renji replies, and Seiichi laughs again. Not even Tezuka can stop the slightly amused smile from slipping onto his face. "But maybe we wouldn't have so many tongues wagging after her whenever she steps on court."

"Maybe if they knew she was thirteen, tongues would stop wagging," Tezuka replies, thinking back to one of the tournament matches against a seed. He doesn't remember the school now (he had been too swamped in things he should've remembered, like the names of all the emperors of the Heian Dynasty), but he does remember at the end of the match, after Rakuzan had been declared winner, one of the opponents had approached Echizen-chan who hadn't even had to play that day and said something to her. Whatever he said earned him a foot in between the legs, the middle finger, and a vicious string of swear words. Fortunately, since the situation happened out in the parking lot, the tennis officials weren't able to justify pulling Rakuzan out of the tournament, but the incident would probably never be forgotten.

"Although, I think Zen-chan as a boy would hardly discourage any tongue-wagging," Seiichi muses lightly, clearly amused by the entire topic.

"And we're going to stop there," Tezuka asserts firmly, only to have both Seiichi and Renji turn to give him a look. "What is it?"

"Uncomfortable?" Seiichi practically leers. Tezuka wonders if he's spent too much time with Syuusuke, or maybe it's Syuusuke who has spent too much time with Seiichi. Or maybe both of them were born this way. "Don't think I haven't seen the way you've looked at-"

"I thought I said that we weren't going to talk about this anymore." Tezuka stares resolutely forward despite the two pairs of eyes burning holes into the sides of his face.

"You did, but we didn't agree." Renji's voice is practically smirking, and he leans a little closer into Tezuka's space. "The data supports it all. There's a one hundred percent chance that you like him, a thirty-seven percent chance that you love him, and a fifty percent chance that he likes you back."

"What about love?" Seiichi poses the question mockingly, voice pitched almost as if to resembles a girl's. He's having far too much fun with this.

"Zero percent chance."

That actually stings. Just a bit. Tezuka doesn't blink, doesn't twitch, doesn't let the calculation bother him. Maybe he does too good of a job, because Renji pulls back and suddenly speaks again, voice slightly gentler. "But with more time and more communication, that percentage could increase by a projected twenty-nine."

Tezuka doesn't acknowledge Renji, and instead continues onward silently. The two follow him, and the atmosphere is neither cold nor warm.

Maybe it really was a bad idea to go to Rakuzan.

* * *

Tezuka hadn't intended to go to Rakuzan. His grandmother was of fragile mental state, and his grandfather could hardly take care of her all by himself when his parents were off to work. At least if he went to Seigaku High, Seigaku's sister school, he would be able to go straight home after practice to help take care of both his grandparents.

He was fine with that.

But then the offer came in the mail. A full scholarship, on the conditions that he maintain average grades and join the tennis team. The attached later had been personally addressed to him by the tennis coach. _The majority of our outstanding players are either graduating or quitting this year. Many rumors have been floating around of the collapse of our tennis team. Rakuzan is a prestigious high school. Its students deserve the best of the best. It deserves the best of the best. I know that you will be able to make the tennis team the best of the best. And Rakuzan deserves you._

Tezuka hadn't cared much for the tennis coach's letter. He had, however, cared very much for the scholarship. If he accepted, everything except for his transportation from home to school would be taken care of. And this was _Rakuzan_.

How could he not accept?

He thought the answer was simple (very easily), but then his parents caught sight of the letter in the trashcan, and they confronted him. They wanted him to go. If he couldn't go pro, he could at least go to Rakuzan, graduate top of his class, and be accepted into a university like Todai.

He thought the answer was easy, but it really wasn't.

And then Syuusuke called him. He wanted to go to Rakuzan. He hadn't been offered a scholarship, but his parents could afford to send him. Just him. And they knew that it would be worth it. Especially when they heard the Tezuka might go. So Syuusuke called him and asked him to go. To go for him, if not for himself.

One by one, they called him. Some to ask him to join them at Rakuzan, most to tell him that they would go to Rakuzan, and that no matter what high school he chose, they hoped to see him again. On court. Playing. With or without a working left arm (thankfully, it wasn't broken, wasn't beyond repair).

Despite his supposedly easy answer, Tezuka arranged for a tour of the school, and his parents sent him off with tearful but proud smiles. Imagine if he really does decide to go to Rakuzan. What would their faces look like then?

Rakuzan was enormous. Its campus had to be the size of Todai. Maybe even larger. To junior high to Tezuka, he felt very, very small (despite being slightly tall for his age). Everywhere he looked, everyone was smiling. Even the people with their heads buried in books. They were all smiling and laughing and talking. Rakuzan was happy.

But then he was taken to the courts. And he could only stare through the mesh screen in shock. Because no one on that court was smiling. No one on that court was smiling and laughing and talking. To Tezuka Kunimitsu, who discovered what true happiness while playing tennis felt like that year, standing on a court and not loving every second of it was analogous to a felony.

When he came home for Rakuzan that night, he told his parents that he wanted to go. They nodded, they smiled, they cried. Neither of them tried to tell him that he did something right or wrong. He told his grandparents that night too. His grandmother smiled because she knew he was happy on the inside, and his grandfather hugged him hard and never wanted to let go. But eventually he had to, and Tezuka found himself anticipating the day he moved into Rakuzan's dorms.

He hasn't really ever regretted his decision.

Not even now.

* * *

The first day Tezuka met Syuusuke, he thought the blue-eyed brunette was a girl.

It was an honest mistake, one that was very quickly corrected by one irked Fuji Syuusuke. They very quickly bonded over tennis, and somehow, Syuusuke become one of Tezuka's closest friends. Maybe Tezuka's only close friend.

Spending four years with one person can really change you. Can change who you are, can change who you perceive that person to be. Change happened to Tezuka. He found himself understanding people more, in his own strange way. There are some things that he'll never understand, he acknowledges that. He knows that Seiichi's easy charm and Echizen-chan's natural magnetism will always perplex him, if only because he's never been like that. He's always been the frame to Syuusuke's painting, been the plaque to Syuusuke's brilliance. He's never minded, and he still doesn't mind. Because Syuusuke is one of those people who gets so caught up in who others think they should be, he forgets himself.

And Tezuka is the one who reminds him of who he is.

Being a pillar really isn't hard, really isn't bad. Tezuka likes his role. He thought for sure that Echizen-chan would too. And so maybe he hasn't changed all _that_ much because of Syuusuke.

But his perception of Syuusuke has certainly changed. No more was the quirky and innocent boy that Tezuka had first seen Syuusuke as. No more was the uninterested and aloof teen, no more was the vague and equivocal tensai.

And right now, Tezuka doesn't know who Syuusuke is.

And sure, he could blame Echizen-chan (part of him does), but she isn't the sole contributor. Perhaps Tezuka shares part of the blame, for putting some distance in between him and Syuusuke ever since the beginning of their first year in high school. Perhaps Syuusuke's older sister, Fuji Yumiko, shares part of the blame, for creating tension within the family. Perhaps Seiichi shares part of the blame, for never trying hard enough to relate with Syuusuke, to understand him.

Perhaps it is none of them, and the blame lies solely with Syuusuke.

Tezuka can think and re-think and un-think every single little detail about Syuusuke and his ever changing faces, but he'll never get any closer to the real answer.

If there even is one.

If he thinks hard enough, Tezuka can maybe even justify the idea that he and Syuusuke were never friends in the first place.

(And wow, is that a terrible thought.)

* * *

Tezuka hits a ball against the wall, long past the time his left arm has gone numb. He needs this. The silence, the cold air, the feeling of the ball against his racket, the sound of the ball hitting the wall. He hasn't played against the wall in a long, long time. There had never been a need, not since first year of junior high.

There's something therapeutic about bashing a yellow neon wall against a sickly green wall.

Seiichi and Renji are somewhere in Tokyo. He hadn't really listened to them when they explained where they were going as they left his house. All he remembers is deciding to pick up his tennis bag and heading out to the sports park. At this time of night, there'd be no one out on the courts. That's okay. He doesn't really want to talk to anyone anyways.

There are fundamental truths to the universe. A person is not meant to be killed for another's pleasure. A dog is not meant to be locked into a cage. A tennis player is not meant to hurt someone with a racket.

A boy is not meant to like another boy.

But Tezuka thinks that he's breaking one of these fundamental truths.

He doesn't like thinking about this type of stuff. He doesn't like feeling anything. It's Renji and Seiichi's fault. They brought this topic up earlier, and now Tezuka can't think of anything else.

He smashes the ball as hard as he possibly can with his numb arm against the wall. It flies back, just barely missing his face before disappearing into the trees behind him.

Tezuka doesn't bother trying to go after the ball (he has many more). Instead, he stiffly makes his way towards the bench on the side and sits down next to his tennis bag. Dropping his head back, he stares up at the night sky. The moon is a crescent fixed to the sky, clouds rolling across its surface. Maybe there is something bewitching about the sky. He can see why Echizen-chan would spend her time staring up through the tree branches at the sky.

It makes him feel small. A good small.

He never usually thinks this much. Today has been a strange day.

Tezuka closes his eyes, and thinks of pale skin and rosy lips. If he thinks hard enough, maybe he'll find himself falling in love with a girl who looks eerily like him, and not in love with him.

(It's not working.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow that took a turn


	49. Forty Ninth: Tribulations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: this chapter is significantly darker than the other chapters, some of which have only mentioned and referenced dark themes. sensitive topics such as suicide, sexual harassment, and physical disabilities are mentioned. proceed with caution
> 
> Apologies for missing last weeks update, but hopefully this chapter makes up for it.
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Kuroko doesn't like the past. She never has. Why would a girl like her want to reminisce about the times her parents left her alone at home with a nanny who spent the days sleeping and eating and watching TV, about the times she found nooks and crannies all over the Akashi mansion to hide away from her own family, about the time when agony pierced through her eyes and how pain still persists in a phantom ache in her left wrist?

Why would a girl like her want others to know just how messed up she really is?

In truth, she doesn't, but with eleven pairs of eyes are currently boring into her soul, there's no plausible way of backing out now.

Kuroko takes a deep breath, mind racing for a way to stall this moment even further. She isn't sure what she's willing to reveal in front of this group of people. As much as she's come to trust and love them, she knows that everyone except the two who are staring at her with the utmost intensity and concentration is unaware of the fact that she even has injuries. Maybe Hyuuga-senpai and Coach have noticed something amiss, but she could easily not even mention the pain and blood and fear that she was dead, that she would open her eyes and never see the sun ever again.

Her mouth decides to start with, "Misdirection isn't my original style."

_Looks like I've already decided._

Hyuuga-senpai raises an eyebrow and Izuki-senpai coughs slightly. "I remember vaguely hearing something along those lines. There were rumors going around the middle school circuit that there used to be a player on Teikou's team that could slip through the cracks of a defense and leave everyone he- _she_ passed on the ground. But those rumors were unreliable at best, ludicrous at worst, so I never really believed in that. I've always found it strange that despite having the Generation of Miracles, there are many things about Teikou that people don't know or are unsure about."

Kuroko nods slightly. "Part of it is that we tend to be very secretive. There are things that not everyone needs to know about us." _Which is what's making this whole "no barriers" thing very, very hard for me._ "And another part is probably Seijūrō. He's always liked confusing other people." Psychological plays and the such have always been a staple of both Seijūrō and Kuroko's styles (at least, her original one), mainly because of its necessity, partly because of how much he enjoys the game. It wasn't until the appearance of Seijūrō's golden eye that he became more obsessed over the effects of his psychological plays on the people surrounding him. _Manipulation,_ a very small part of Kuroko's mind whispers, and she tries her hardest to put it down. "So..." Kuroko hesitates, licking her lips which suddenly feel far too dry. She suddenly feels nauseous, something nasty fluttering about in her stomach. "What I'm about to tell all of you is something that only five other people in this world are aware of."

All around the room, eyes flicker to look at each other, clear questions in their gazes. None of them are willing to speak up and ask what everyone must be wondering. Kuroko doesn't feel particularly obligated to answer their unspoken questions, and this must be obvious because after a long moment of loaded silence, Kagami-kun clears his throat loudly and speaks up. "Ahh, so, you're saying that only the Miracles know about your change in basketball style?"

Kuroko finds herself wishing the food wrappers were still littered across, just so she could have something to fiddle with. As it is, she keeps her fingers stiffly interlocked in her lap, trying her hardest to keep them from flying around her hair and clothes. It's a real bad habit, her fiddling, but she's never gotten around to stopping it. "Not just my basketball. What happened in middle school, and why the Generation of Miracles decided to break apart at the end."

"I thought it was because you guys wanted a challenge." The statement is more of a question, and Coach is frowning slightly as she glances at Hyuuga-senpai before glancing back to Kuroko.

Kuroko nods, fingers tightening in place. "That is indeed part of the reason, but I think that it would be easier to explain if I start from the beginning."

Kagami-kun grins broadly, leaning back and laying flat on the ground, pillowing his head in his arms. "Explain away."

She gives her light a deadpanned stare before turning her head back and fixing her gaze on the surface of the chabudai. The tablecloth is a simple off-white embroidered with a pattern of blue flowers. Very feminine, despite the fact that Kagami-kun is living all by himself in Japan as his parents stayed behind in the Americas-literally. Apparently, they're big business moguls (at least, his mother is) who often fly around the world and are currently based in the Western hemisphere. She's reminded of her own parents, who don't have nearly the same excuse to not call her once since their last call (a ten-minute silence on her fourteenth birthday-not even when she turned sixteen did they decide to show up).

She's stalling. Ryoma-chan nudges her with a pointy elbow, and Kuroko finally opens her mouth. She genuinely feels sick. "Seijūrō and I first began playing years ago. Literally half of my life has been dedicated to basketball. My original style was based on my small frame and sharp eyes. I've always had keen observational skills. Seijūrō first proposed the idea of looking at an opposing team as a stone wall. Impenetrable to an observer who only looks at the larger picture, but to someone who knows how to look for the cracks-suffice it to say, I became _very_ adept at breaking through a defense. No defense was strong enough to stop me." Kuroko blinks, for once hyperaware of the contacts in her eyes. She's gotten so used to them, she can barely distinguish between when they're in and when they're out. "Part of the inspiration for Seijūrō's Emperor Eye came from my basketball. With this technique, I had found a way to predict future to a certain degree. I could see the weaknesses in bodies, and as such, I could see the weaknesses in defenses and offenses."

"Weaknesses in bodies?" Izuki-senpai questions, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "I have Eagle Eye and even I can't see that sort of stuff."

Ryoma-chan interjects before Kuroko can answer. "A body's dead angles. Absolute blind spots, in a way." She appraises Kuroko, golden eyes narrowed in suspicion. "A person's skeletal structure dictates the limits of a person's reach and movement, no matter one's flexibility, speed, strength, or other such acquired skills. After all, there's only so much a joint can twist before breaking. With a sharp and developed enough sense of sight, it's completely possible to be able to see into a person's skeletal structure and discern one's dead angles. Monkey King has been able to do so on multiple occasions, the show-off."

Kuroko's lips twitch. "I didn't know you knew such complex anatomical theories, Ryoma-chan."

The girl rolls her eyes, crossing her legs and reaching across Kuroko's lap to absently scratch behind Nigou's ears. "You hang around my team and you're bound to find someone who knows what's going on on court."

Kuroko fights down another smile, returning her attention to her story. "Ryoma-chan is correct. Although at the time I didn't fully understand what was happening, I had stumbled across the secret to discovering the spots where a person wouldn't be able to reach no matter how hard he or she tried without dislocating a shoulder or breaking a bone." Ryoma-chan snorts, and Kuroko glances at her before continuing onwards. "Seijūrō used this technique to develop Emperor Eye. He was fascinated by the way I was able to predict a path through any defense by perceiving a person's dead angles. Emperor Eye is a highly skilled technique that is used to look at a body and discover everything about it, from the shape of one's bones to one's muscle mass to the amount of perspiration on one's skin. The skill isn't much unlike what you can do, Coach, but Emperor Eye is much more detailed and discerning. Seijūrō spent years attempting to understand and replicate my methods through developing this skill, but it wasn't until the second year of middle school that he truly 'awoke' Emperor Eye." Kuroko licks her lips, mind scrambling to find a way to not talk about what happened second year.

She's saved from an awkward change in topic when Coach leans forward, eyes intent. "So if your original style was so useful, why did you stop using it?"

Kuroko hates this topic almost as much as she hates second year, even though the accident technically occurred the summer before second year. She blinks again, feeling the contacts pressing against her eyes. "Something happened. An accident. I ended up...unable to execute the technique ever again."

She can feel Ryoma-chan staring at her, but Kuroko refuses to look up from the table. After a charged silence, Kagmai-kun prods, "And? What was the accident? What could've possibly been injured so badly that you're unable to play the way you used to?"

Kuroko clenches her left hand into a fist. Nothing happens. It's hit or miss nowadays, whether she feels the pain of her left wrist slamming onto the ground, crushed under the weight of her own body anymore. Ever since winter camp and Phantom Shot, her mind has been grappling with the idea of a useless dominant hand and not needing her left hand to play high quality basketball.

In a surprising moment of unwanted perception, Kagami-kun notes, "Something wrong with your left hand?"

She blinks, slowly exhaling to make up for the sharp inhale. "Why would you say that?"

He raises a lazy hand, pointing at her balled up left hand. She quickly unclenches it, but everyone around her has already seen it. "You clenched your left hand when I asked what was wrong. I'm no psychologist-"

"You're not even smart," Ryoma-chan snickers, laughing even harder when Kagami-kun swats at her arm.

"-no _psychologist_ ," he repeats, glaring at Ryoma-chan, "but even I can tell that you've got a problem with your left wrist."

"There shouldn't be anything physically wrong with it," Coach pipes up, running a cursory gaze over Kuroko's left arm. "Everything looks to be in order."

Kuroko closes her eyes before opening them and raising her left arm. She flexes her fingers one by one. There's still no pain. "I have- _had_ -a psychosomatic wrist sprain."

Coach sucks in a sharp breath, staring at her with wide eyes. Hyuuga-senpai blinks confusedly behind his glasses, and Izuki-senpai mouths the word "psychosomatic," clear confusion filling his face. "Umm...psychosomatic?"

Coach is the one who answers, eyes never leaving Kuroko's left wrist. "Psychosomatic is used to describe the relationship between a physical ailment and one's mental state. It's most often used to describe how an illness or disorder is worsened by one's perception through memories or beliefs-for example, someone who believes that a cold is mainly harmless is less likely to suffer severe symptoms while someone who believes a cold to be life threatening is more likely to suffer severe symptoms. Very rarely is the term used in reference to an actual physical wound. A psychosomatic wrist sprain...what could've been so traumatic as to make you feel pain in your left wrist long after it healed?"

The questions always go full circle, and Kuroko hates that path. She attempts to redirect the questions by answering in a vague but somewhat truthful way. "The accident happened when I was young, so it left more of an impression on me." Coach doesn't look very convinced, but Kuroko continues onwards, hoping to find some way to distract her and everyone else from the answer but not really. "Along with the psychosomatic wrist, I injured my eyes. It wasn't a very serious injury-" Now, _that_ was a lie. Ryoma-chan kicks Kuroko's leg, but she doesn't react. "-but it was bad enough that I was unable to successfully perform the technique."

"Until Winter Cup," Koganei-senpai pipes up, his head propped up on his folded arms. When Kuroko nods slowly, he tilts his head to the side. It must strain his eyes, to look up at Kuroko from that vantage point. "If you weren't able to do it before, what changed?"

A faint smile pulls at Kuroko's lips despite the topic at hand as she remembers days spent in Ryoma-chan, Yukimura-san, and Akutsu-san's companies. They were a colorful group (literally), that's for sure. "There was a reason Kagetora-san entrusted Ryoma-chan with my training."

Heads turn to stare incredulously at Ryoma-chan, who smirks at them all, golden eyes dancing with mirth. "Mada mada dane."

A couple people blink, not having heard Ryoma-chan's favorite phrase in the whole entire world before. Kawahara-kun seems to repress a squeal, his eyes practically glittering with awe and excitement. Fukuda-kun pats his back, asking if he's okay. Kawahara-kun hisses back in a voice that he probably believes to be quiet but is in fact heard by everyone in the room, "It's Echizen Ryoma's famous bratty phrase! She says it after every game she wins!"

"Bratty? Who're you calling bratty?" Ryoma-chan sounds more amused than angry, but Kawahara-kun doesn't notice that. He yelps, pushing Fukuda-kun in front of him as a shield.

The entire exchange seems to lighten the atmosphere, even as everyone turns back to Kuroko, silently gesturing for her to continue. She clears her throat. "That's all my original style. When I was unable to play the way I used to, Seijūrō helped me change my basketball. I had always had a lack of a presence. Even though my eyes weren't as...sharp as before, I had still retained my observational skills. Those are impossible to lose. He handed me a book on magicians, told me that it would help me. I didn't really understand at the time, but when I finally read through it, I understood what he was trying to point out to me. Misdirection, sleights of hand, and deception are all perfect for someone like me. When I was first able to pass a ball without Seijūrō being able to even see it, I was so happy."

"So both your styles were facilitated by Akashi Seijūrō?" Kagami-kun questions, the misgivings he has over the entire situation clear in his voice.

Kuroko sighs. "As much as Seijūrō is aware of my weaknesses, I am aware of his. He may have helped create my misdirection, but I was the one who developed it from scratch. Who learned how to turn a player's attention away from me, just enough for me to force an invisible pass in between the cracks of a defense."

"In the end, your current style is a lot like your original one, don't you think?" Ryoma-chan laughs, pulling Nigous onto her own lap and squishing his face in between her hands. "Except instead of your body slipping through the defense, it's the ball. That's pretty ironic."

"I don't think you understand the meaning of the word 'ironic,'" Kuroko replies, pulling Ryoma-chan's hands away from Nigou's face. Kagami-kun shifts further away from Ryoma-chan, eyeing Nigou warily. "But I will admit, that is rather funny. I hadn't thought of it that way until now."

"So with your new style, the Generation of Miracles had to shift their entire playing style in accordance, right?" Coach asks, leaning an elbow on the table and resting her cheek on her palm.

Kuroko nods slowly, eyes shifting from Coach to the table again. She traces the floral patterns with her eyes, remembering the flowers of another time, the flowers that marked a season of disappointment and betrayal and endings. (Now they mean hopes and dreams and beginnings.) "Yes. It worked, for a while. They were the stars, and I was their shadow, their Phantom Sixth Woman. They were unstoppable. That was part of the problem." The others watch in silence as Kuroko takes a deep breath, collecting herself. "Maybe, if I hadn't changed my style to a supporting role, they wouldn't have done it."

"Done what?" Furihata-kun ventures before flushing when everyone's attention turns on him. "I-I mean, the Generation of Miracles have done a lot of things, so-"

"Furihata!" Fukuda-kun hisses, and the boy falls silent.

Kuroko's eyes flit in between the faces of her teammates, and she can't help but wonder if they're going to be another Teikou. Another dynasty of emperors turned tyrants. "The Generation of Miracles did indeed do many things. The first was Aomine-kun. He grew too fast, too much. There was no stopping him when he became...became-"

"A dick?" Ryoma-chan snorts.

Kuroko feels very tempted to reply, _he's always been that_ , but such a response is immature and somewhat untruthful, so instead she settles on, "No, a different person. In a bad way. When he started skipping practice, everyone else changed as well. Murasakibara-kun had never been particularly interested in basketball, not even back then. He wanted to skip as well. When Seijūrō refused, they faced off in a one-on-one. From what I heard, Murasakibara-kun had been winning. I wasn't there at the time-" There's no way that Kuroko will be telling either Ryoma-chan or Kagami-kun that she had been searching for Aomine-kun, who ignored her and left her all by herself in the rain when she finally found him again. "-but when I came back, I found Murasakibara-kun crying in a corner of the locker room." She'll never forget the sight of the one hundred and eighty-six centimeter tall boy curled up in between the break of two locker sections, purple strands of hair dampening with his tears. "Seijūrō had won with the awakening of his Emperor Eye." Kuroko swallows back the bitter taste on her tongue, deciding to omit some far too personal information. Her teammates don't need to know everything. Nobody does, not even Seijūrō himself. "From then on, everything was different. Despite winning, Seijūrō decided that as long as they showed up for official matches, the Generation of Miracles could skip practice. Murasakibara-kun and Aomine-kun never showed up at the courts ever again unless we were playing in a tournament. Even then, Aomine-kun would come in late. Kise-kun missed more and more practices because of modeling. I had hopes that he of all people would understand basketball, but he stopped caring. And Midorima-kun...didn't care either. Sometimes, I wonder if any of them ever did in the first place." And then she would berate herself, because she knows her friends (ex-friends?), remembers the glow in their eyes whenever they played against a particularly tough team. Remembers when they had fun, all of them together, playing their hardest against teams that didn't even know the difference between a shooting guard and a small forward. Remembers loving basketball, knowing that her most precious people love basketball just as much as she does. _What she wouldn't give to live in those memories once more._

"I remember that they were horrible," Hyuuga-senpai speaks slowly, watching Kuroko with a careful eye. He doesn't want to offend her, not knowing that she has had first hand experience with just how horrible the Generation of Miracles were (and still are). "They never respected their opponents. Oftentimes, they played games with the scores. There were many rumors that the Miracles had a competition between themselves. Whoever scored the most points was allowed to..." Hyuuga-senpai trails off, his face turning a deep, bright red. Kuroko feels disgust crawling under her skin, up and down her body.

"Yes," she replies shortly, trying not to remember times when other members thought the game applied to them as well. As much of a jerk Seijūrō became, he never tolerated sexual harassment, for which she is grateful. "Whoever scored the most points was allowed to take their pick of the managers."

Exclamations of disgust arise, and Ryoma-chan flinches so hard besides Kuroko, the blue-haired girl is concerned that the tennis player got whiplash. "It was all consensual," Kuroko hastens to clarify, and sighs of relief follow the statement though the disgust still doesn't fade away, from either her friends or from herself. "In fact, the main reason most girls became managers of the basketball club was because of the game. They thought...well, they thought that if they couldn't romantically interest any of the Teikou regulars, they'd still have a good night with whoever won."

"Atrocious," Hyuuga-senpai sneers, glaring darkly at the table, and Izuki-senpai nods vigorously in agreement, eyes wide and shocked. "Your coach let all this happen?"

Kuroko sighs, lacing her fingers together again. "Our coach was replaced in second year as well. The new coach, Sanada-san, was weak. That is the nicest thing I could possibly say about a man like him. He was unable to control Aomine-kun, and as such allowed him and anyone who wanted to to skip practice. He hardly cared about what the players did, as long as nothing they did resulted in a scandal or a loss."

"Atrocious," Hyuuga-senpai repeats, and Kuroko nods in agreement along with Izuki-senpai. "And that isn't the worst thing I've heard. What about all those suicides?"

"Suicides?" Kagami-kun repeats, incredulity in his voice as he pushes himself up. He stares at everyone, jaw dropping as he realizes that they're all serious. "No way. They're bastards, but they can't possibly be that bad, can they?"

"They can, they were, and they are," Hyuuga-senpai replies darkly, fingers gripping at the table. "A lot of middle schoolers quit the basketball club, committed suicide, or did both after matches against Teikou."

"Correlation may not always be causation," Coach mutters just as darkly, "but the coincidence is impossible to dismiss, not to mention that this occurred every single time. One time is negligible, two times is note-worthy, three times is suspicious...and more times? I shudder to think of it."

"Fortunately, the majority of them either did not go through with the act or were able to be saved." Kuroko licks her lips again, thinking of weeks upon weeks of visiting house after house, hospital after hospital, searching for the victims of her ex-teammates' careless actions. During that time, she had thought that she'd never be able to scrub the smell of antiseptics off of her. Even now, on very bad days, she swears that the smell lingers somewhere on her body, and even when she scrubs her skin red and shiny, it stays and taunts her. "Those that did die...they were few, but unforgettable."

She still remembers their names, their faces. Some nights, they haunt her nightmares. Faceless, but she still knows that it's them.

_Mogami Rokuro._

_Hisakawa Nobu._

_Tanaka Yori._

_Ueda Sora._

She had attended each of their funerals, had spoken to each of their families. And as much as she has tried to remember and connect with all the people she could reach, they pushed her away, or she couldn't contact them. As many people as she has hoped she has helped, there are always more that she has missed.

A silence sweeps over the room, its occupants digesting the information just given them. A group of middle schoolers who have done nothing but cause terror and destruction on their path to glory. A path that they don't even care about, a path that some of them don't even want.

Hyuuga-senpai clears his throat, breaking the silence. "I remember the last match Teikou had last year as well. What was that school? Meiji? Meika?"

"Meikou," Kiyoshi-senpai corrects, and this time, Kuroko is the one who flinches.

 _Meikou_. Oh, how that word brings up memories. She blinks again, trying to ignore the press of the contacts. For the first time ever, she wants to take them out, so she won't be able to see the insistent gazes the rest of the team is giving her.

This is too much. Too much all at once. But Meikou is the reason she wanted to talk to them all in the first place. Taking a deep breath, she prepares herself to tell this group of eleven people something that not even Seijūrō knows-not from her perception, anyways. "I told you all earlier that I met a boy named Ogiwara Shigehiro when I was ten years old. He is- _was_ -my best friend. He...we played basketball together. He was good. Really good. We both were. We met up on the street courts when we were little, and played, just the two of us. When we got older, we would join another group of kids and play a game. We were always on the same team, and we would always win. The day before the first year of middle school started, Ogiwara-kun wanted to play on opposite teams. We were tied when some kids had to leave and there weren't enough people to play the rest of the game. We were never able to finish a game against each other. So we promised-we promised that we would play against each other. Neither Teikou nor Meikou were able to reach Nationals the first year of middle school. The next year, Meikou was eliminated before it could reach the Finals. Only until last year were we able to face off fairly. I had been so excited." Kuroko pauses, taking another deep breath. She doesn't want to talk about this. She really, really doesn't want to. "The match before the one against Meikou, I was hit in the head. Seijūrō refused to let me play in the game. In that moment, I ask-I asked him to play to the best of his ability. I asked that the Generation of Miracles not hold back against Meikou. I knew that Ogiwara-kun would be happy playing Teikou, as long as they treated him as an equal. As long as they treated him with respect."

"The Teikou-Meikou match is legendary," Coach murmurs, staring at Kuroko with sad eyes. "Because in the last few seconds of the fourth quarter, Murasakibara Atsushi scored a goal in the opposing team's basket to create a final score of 111-11."

Kuroko flinches again, and her shoulders are shaking. She can feel a heat building up behind her eyes, and her cheeks are flushing. "Because of me..." she breathes wetly, trying to force her tears back, "because of me, Ogiwara-kun's team was utterly devastated. Seijūrō had made a _game_ out of my best friend's first and last National Finals game. He promised-he _promised_ to not easy on Meikou, and behind my back, he proposed a game to my teammates. I had never hated him-had never hated _basketball_ so much as in that moment."

The tears escape, rolling down her cheeks in a torrent of anger and fury and desperation and sadness, and Kuroko is crying. A slender arm wraps around her shoulders, one that Kuroko immediately identifies as Ryoma-chan's because they're much too small to be anyone else's. Kuroko leans into the embrace, and she cries, and cries, and cries.


	50. Fiftieth: Trivialities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 50TH CHAPTER I AM SO PROUD OF MYSELF, IT'S A MIRACLE
> 
> Timeline: One year after the end of New Prince of Tennis (that includes all the U-17 shenanigans that will be completely glossed over except for the occasional mention of some high schoolers and some tennis moves that the characters learned during that time) when all the third-years are in their first year of high school, after Inter High but before Winter Cup (this story will be going through Winter Cup)
> 
> Warnings: swearing, potential OOCness, Fem!Ryoma, Fem!Kuroko, Kuroko and Akashi as cousins, GOM bashing, dark themes
> 
> Enjoy!

Kagami responds absentmindedly to his teammates' farewells as they leave his house. The atmosphere is heavy with somber from the previous conversation. He had never believed the Generation of Miracles could more bastardly than they already are. At the same time, the air feels lighter, as if a weight has been lifted off their shoulders. He's sure Tetsuya feels the same way-if not more so.

His shadow is sitting in the living room, her sobs slowly tapering off with every passing second. Kagami is hiding out in the kitchen until they've fully stopped. The kettle begins to whistle, signaling that the water he's been boiling is ready. He picks it up, setting it in the middle of three mugs. Unsure of Echizen's tea preferences, Kagami digs out a handful of different flavors from the box his mother had stashed in the cabinet when she visited during her vacation. Dropping them next to the kettle, he lifts the tray and slowly heads back to where Tetsuya and Echizen are sitting, hoping that Tetsuya has stopped crying.

When he enters his own living room, Kagami feels like an intruder.

Tetsuya is dabbing at her eyes with a napkin, smiling in a way that Kagami only sees after a game as she converses with Echizen, who seems to be trying her best to make the older girl laugh-and succeeding. For the first time, Kagami marvels at the relationship between the two. There's no way that they've known each other for more than a month or two, and yet here they are, acting as if they've known each other for years. There's a comfortable camaraderie between the two that exists between Kagami and Tetsuya, and they've known each other since the beginning of the year.

As Kagami walks further into the room, Echizen tilts her head back, golden eyes full of slight amusement and full adoration lighting upon him. Her smile sharpens into a smirk as she notes the tray in his hands. "You're a real house wife, you know that?"

Kagami snorts but otherwise doesn't dignify the provocative jab with a response. Tonight isn't a night for snide taunts and sneered responses. Tonight is calm and peaceful and- _god damn it stop smirking at me like that_. "At least the food I make is edible," he shrugs, setting the tray down with a thump and plopping down onto a cushion, stretching his feet out under the low table and leaning back.

Echizen reaches for a mug, not bothering to respond to Kagami's slightly defensive remark. He turns his head to look up at Tetsuya, who folds the napkin in half and blows her nose loudly. Even with red eyes and nose, cheeks stained with tear tracks, and wisps of hair plastered to her forehead, she looks more content than ever before. "You know, we're all happy that you told us, right?"

Kagami may not be the roundest ball in the storage ball (case in point: his horrendous attempt at a basketball metaphor), but he likes to think that he understands Tetsuya, more so than the rest of the team. She's concise and straightforward, not the type to speak circles in vague terms to deflect attention from a certain topic. Her misdirection in word form is much less effective than in reality. He wonders if she'll tell him now that they're alone (with Echizen, who is reading through the packets of tea with a rather serious look on her face).

Despite everything, Tetsuya's lips don't move further than a twitch, so Kagami smiles for her. "I know," she murmurs quietly, as if afraid that if she speaks any louder she'll start crying once more. "I'm happy too."

"I know," Kagami echoes, grinning widely at her. "But you haven't told us everything. What happened to your eyes? Is the same thing that happened the reason why you wear contacts?" Tetsuya's eyes widen slightly, and Kagami's grin widens even more. "I saw you putting them in during winter camp. I'm more observant than others think, see? What made Akashi change so much during your second year? You seemed to have a close relationship with him before-still do. Actually, now that I think about...are the two of you in a relationship?"

" _No_!" Tetsuya stares at Kagami in horror, shaking her head once and harshly. Echizen is chortling beside her, adding several lumps of sugar into her tea (the girl's like a sugar addict, with all the Ponta she drinks-and is that six cubes of sugar?). " _No_ , Seijūrō and I will _never_ be in a relationship."

Kagami raises an eyebrow, racking his brain in an attempt to remember all of their interactions. From what he can remember, the bastard actually seems to listen to her, so he can't imagine any other reason. Besides, he can see the two of them being romantically interested in each other. Hell, they helped _develop_ each other's basketball styles-to a basketball idiot like Kagami, that's synonymous to a declaration of love. "What? Why?"

Echizen is still laughing as she mixes the sugar into the tea. "For one, it'd be illegal."

Kagami frowns, mulling the tennis player's words over in his head. "Illegal? Aren't you two the same age?"

"Wow, he really doesn't get it," Echizen murmurs, taking a careful sip of her drink. She glances at Tetsuya over the rim of her mug, raising an eyebrow. Kagami's partner sighs softly, nodding in response to whatever silent question her friend had asked. "They're cousins."

Kagami jerks up so fast, his shins bang into the chabudai, causing the tablecloth to flutter and settle half on the chabudai, half on the floor. "Wait what?"

Echize rolls her eyes, muttering something about idiot bastards into the mug. Tetsuya is the one who affirms, "Yes, Seijūrō and I are cousins. That is the reason why we seem so...close. And I personally find myself repulsed at the idea of dating him."

"Yeah, no, go you," Kagami replies somewhat dazedly, still trying to make sense of the idea of two people as different as night and day being related to each other. "Incest is sincest."

Echizen raises an eyebrow, lowering the mug. "Damn, did you come up with that phrase all on your own? Impressive."

Kagami's eyebrow twitches, and he glowers at her as he slowly leans back down again. "Shut up. Some of my old friends back in the states were hardcore weebs. Never did understand the obsession with incest."

Tetsuya picks up her own mug, raising the kettle with her left hand. Her movements are smooth as she fills the cup to the brim then sets it down again to look for a tea packet. "Incest or not, neither Seijūrō nor I are interested in each other. I think it's better to stay that way."

"You have any cousins?" Echizen questions, dropping another cube of sugar into her mug. Kagami wonders how she doesn't have diabetes yet.

"Probably," he answers, not really thinking about it. He's never met any extended family except for his grandparents on his father's side, and even then he can barely remember their faces. He doesn't even know their names. "Never met any of them, though. I think my parents are a bit of a sore topic for the rest of the family."

Echizen raises an eyebrow but otherwise doesn't comment, stirring her tea before stating, "I have a cousin. She's my mom's sister's daughter. She moved out of our house and into her fiancé's because he got her knocked up five months ago. Now she's too busy with the little tyke to come and visit. I think she's happy."

"You think?" Tetsuya repeats, blowing lightly on the surface of her tea before gingerly testing the heat with her lips.

Echizen shrugs, golden eyes cool as she wipes her finger with a napkin and drinks her tea. "It's not like we talk anymore. She's busy."

Sensing the vibes of _I don't want to talk about this_ pouring off of Echzien, Kagami fishes for something else, something different enough. "You lived in the US, right?"

She nods, crossing her legs and pulling Nigou from his position next to Tetsuya and onto her lap. "Yeah. I grew up in Los Angeles. We had a tennis court right next to a swimming pool in the backyard, and there were trees everywhere. Tall, green, and leafy-not like all the scrawny ones around here." Tetsuya's lips twitch, and Kagami snorts. Of course, Echzien Ryoma would describe flowering trees as scrawny. "I was practically born with a tennis racket."

Kagami nods, scooting further away from Echizen when Nigou wiggles around in her lap, his head popping up and resting on the knee closest to him. "Guess that makes sense. I lived in Miami. They had great waves there, you know. I bet, if I hadn't discovered basketball, I would've tried to pursue a career in surfing." Kagami grins, remembering salt and water saturating his clothing, sinking into his skin until he was practically salt and water and wind. "Imagine that, huh? But then I never would've met you two, so I guess I'd better take my losses with my wins."

"Who're you calling a loss?" Echizen snaps back, leaning towards Kagami. Nigou's face ends up even closer to Kagami's hip than before, and he shudders as he scoots even further to the left.

"You, not Tetsuya," Kagami snaps back, scowl replaced by a smirk when he hears Tetsuya chuckle quietly. "But, man, _surfing_. The worst thing about Japan is the fact that it's such a _long fucking ride_ to the beach. Coach didn't even let us swim after training during camp, the demon."

"We did the squats in the water," Tetsuya offers, only looking annoyingly amused when Kagami scowls at her.

"Yeah, that's not swimming," he grumbles, crossing her arms behind his head and staring up at his ceiling. He wonders how late it is. Tomorrow's a big day. They'll need as much rest as they can possibly get. "I haven't surfed for almost an entire year now."

"Never would've taken you for a surfer," Echizen remarks, lightly scratching between Nigou's ears.

"Too Japanese?"

"Too much of a basketball idiot."

Kagami rolls his eyes as Tetsuya laughs again. The redness of her eyes seems to be fading. "What about you, huh, Tetsuya? Any cousins besides Akashi?"

Tetsuya ponders the question, lightly tracing the rim of the mug with a fingertip. "None that stood out to me. The Akashi's are a very...proliferate family, so to speak. Seijūrō and I are the odd ones out, being the only children of our parents. Besides, the rest don't live in Japan. Because there are so many different branches to the conglomerate, many different branches of our family are based all over the world. Mother's older sister lives in Germany with five of her children, and the other three already have families of their own in Australia, Chad, and Canada. At least, I believe so."

Kagami's eyes are practically bulging out of his head. "What? Wait, how rich is your family?"

Tetsuya blinks at him. "You aren't aware of the Akashi family?"

Kagami frowns, scratching his head. "I mean, I've _heard_ of them. Pretty sure my dad works for some branch of the company, but I didn't think it was so big it had campuses in that many places around the world."

"I myself am not even aware of just how what Uncle does, but to make things concise, I'll say that the Akashi corporation is an international business that is a part of many different fields, ranging from business to shipping to entertainment and food." Tetsuya glances towards Echizen. "Did you know that the company that produces Ponta is actually owned by the Akashi's?"

"No way." Echizen gapes at Tetsuya before grinning widely. "Do you think you could hook me up with a lifetime's supply of grape Ponta? Oh man, Ryoga would get so jealous!"

"You'd have to ask Seijūrō about that," Tetsuya replies dryly, picking up the kettle and pouring more water (this time, lukewarm) into her mug. "He's planning to succeed Uncle once he has graduated from university. Who's Ryoga?"

Echizen has her phone out and is furiously typing a message, most likely to Akashi asking about the Ponta. Kagami thinks it's kind of endearing. He can't imagine Akashi Seijūrō looking at his phone while doing whatever it is he does at this time of night and seeing a text message from Echizen asking for a lifetime's supply of Ponta. He can't imagine anyone else being able to do this without having their heads cut off with a giant pair of kitchen scissors. "Oh, he's my bastard half-brother," she replies absentmindedly.

"An actual bastard?" Tetsuya asks, slight amusement in her tone.

Echizen snorts, a sardonic half-smirk twisting her lips. "Ha ha, real funny. Yeah, actually. Oyaji impregnated a woman before he married mom. When she died, our aunt took custody of him but eventually shipped him off to oyaji. He only lived with us for a few years before she had a change of heart and demanded him back. So, yeah, Ryoga's a real bastard." After a final jab at the screen of her phone, she drops the phone. It lands on Nigou's back, and he turns his head to stare balefully up at her. "Ooh, sorry, Nigou." She quickly scoops up the phone as it buzzes, and Kagami raises an eyebrow at the surprisingly swift response as Echizen reads it. "Damnit, Seijūrō, it's a simple request. Why're you being so stingy?"

"At the rate you're drinking it at, a lifetime's supply of Ponta would be equivalent to half the company's net worth," Kagami snorts, pushing even further away from the tennis player when she swipes at him. "I mean, on average, you probably drink at least three cans a day?"

"How would you know?" she replies, slightly miffed. "You've only seen me four days in the past couple of months."

"And those four days are enough for me to determine your Ponta drinking habits."

"You make it sound like I'm an alcohol addict."

"I mean, I don't know, you _do_ seem to spend a lot of money on Ponta. I bet those vending machines are loaded with yen because of you."

"Fuck you."

Kagami glances past Echizen towards where Tetsuya is sitting. Her arms are folded on the chabudai, her face cradled within them. He can't tell whether she's listening to them or actually asleep. Just in case she really is a sleep, he lowers his voice. "You have such a poisonous tongue for being thirteen-years-old."

"What does my age have anything to do with this?"

"Some people might find it strange that the majority of your friends are people years older than you."

"Some people meaning you?"

" _Including_ me. And you've gotta admit, it _is_ weird."

Echizen sniffs, setting her phone down on the floor and twisting so that she's parallel to Kagami. Stretching out her legs, she leans back until she's resting on the ground, facing Kagami. Nigou wriggles on her lap, finding a new position draped over her stomach. Hopefully, she can still breathe. "Most people my age are idiots. And besides, all the best tennis players are in high school now. To even get a challenge, I had to follow them to Rakuzan."

"What about the US Open or whatever? What about professional tennis?"

Echizen laughs sardonically. "Yeah, like they'd accept me."

"But didn't you play in a pro tournament?"

"As a wild card. And I lost before quarterfinals. None of them took me seriously before as a thirteen-year-old girl playing against thirty to forty-year-old men-which, by the way, is probably in violation with some sort of rules and only allowed because oyaji has huge clout in the tennis circuits-and none of them will take me seriously after I lost before reaching quarterfinals. No point in rushing into a world where everyone hates me."

"But you still did pretty well, right?"

She smirks, but there's no amusement in it. "Sure, but nobody cares if I did 'pretty well.' I need to do 'the best.' Otherwise, it's meaningless."

Kagami frowns. From everything he knows about the tennis player, he never would've imagined her to care so much about first place. "Who told you that? Akashi?"

Echizen raises an eyebrow at him. "It's none of your business. I don't see why you'd care about something like that. You're really weird, Kagami. You like surfing, you're failing English despite having lived in the US-"

"Wait-did Tetsuya tell you that?"

"-and you're deathly terrified of dogs. I'm more of a cat person myself, but I still like dogs. Why are you so scared of them?"

Kagami wonders whether he should let her change the topic in a not so smooth way. The coldness of her golden eyes convinces him to go along with it. "It's a real phobia," he grumbles, eyeing Nigou distrustingly. "I got diagnosed and everything. I just hate everything about dogs. I hate their tails, I hate their teeth, I hate their eyes. I swear they're out to get me."

"Sounds more like paranoia than a phobia of dogs," Echizen snorts, lightly petting Nigou.

"Imagine having a dog bite your ass when your five-years-old and peacefully petting it. Who wouldn't be terrified of the inhumane bastards?" Kagami shudders, remembering the glowing red eyes and razor sharp teeth of the chihuahua that had practically taken a bite out of his ass.

"I'm surrounded by weirdos," Echizen groans, lightly lifting Nigou from off of her and setting him down next to Tetsuya. Pushing herself up, she combs her hair out of her face and checks the time on her phone. "Oh, it's almost midnight. I better get going."

Despite her words, she hesitates slightly, glancing out the window that reveals the pitch black of the night.

 _It looks like I'm not the only one afraid of something_.

Instead of teasing her (it's way too late for that), Kagami offers quietly, "Do you want to stay the night? I have an extra futon that you and Tetsuya can share if you guys want to. It's too late for the both of you to go out walking the streets of Tokyo alone."

Echizen gives him a grateful look and nods. "Yeah. I'd like that."

While Kagami goes off in search of the futon, Echizen shakes Tetsuya awake. He hears one of them stumble into the bathroom, turning it on. He doesn't think that either of them has a spare change of clothes, and digs through some old clothing that no longer fits him and hopes he gets the sizes right. As he's setting the futon out, Echizen takes the clothes he had found and knocks on the bathroom door, knocking on it and waiting for it to open. After a while, it opens a crack and a pale arm reaches out to grab the clothes before quickly receding.

Kagami quickly glances away when Echzien catches him looking, and he hopes that he isn't blushing as he quickly finishes up.

"The futon's ready," he calls to Echizen where she's in the kitchen, washing the mugs. "When you guys are done with the bathroom, turn off all the lights and don't forget to remind Tetsuya to set an alarm. I tend to hit snooze a lot, so it's better if she's the one who wakes us all up."

"Yeah, yeah, go to bed!" Echizen calls back, the sound of the faucet in the kitchen turning off.

"Good night!" he hollers back, even louder, just to spite her.

His bedroom door is almost closed behind him when he hears her call back, quieter than him, "Good night, Kagami."

It isn't until just before Kagami falls asleep does he realize that Kuroko never answered his questions about her injuries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you couldn't already tell from the title, this was pretty much just a filler before the next chapter, the Seirin-Rakuzan game


End file.
